Kindred Spirits
by mysticgirl101
Summary: THREE WAY CROSSOVER:BONES, CASTLE, NCIS. co-written with MissZivaBeckett. Linked to our other stories. A String of robbery homicides cause our three teams to come together as one. And their four daughters unite striking an alliance. Then they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Better description inside. Don't own Castle, Bones or NCIS, Please R & R
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. I'm back with a new story but this time it is slightly different. **

**This story is co-written with a good friend of mine. She helped me with ideas and plots for my other story **_**An Adolescent Alliance**_** but this time she joined me writing adding one of her own characters into the mix.**

**Like my other story **_**An Adolescent Alliance**_** this story is a three way crossover between **_**Bones, Castle and NCIS. **_**I would say though that **_**NCIS **_**holds center point.**

**It is based off of characters from my other stories linking them together including the characters I created; the children. Plus my good friend's own character from her story. It isn't mandatory that you have read the other stories but to understand everything I would advise it. The stories are:**

**NCIS****: Out To Get You and Family Blood Ties (Most Important)**

**My friend: Miss Ziva Beckett's ****NCIS**** story: Ghosts From The Past (Introduces the new character)**

**Castle****: Her Secret Life No More**

**Bones****: The Daughter In The Danger and The Daughter's Déjà vu **

**Due to us both having NCIS stories we mostly centre the story around them and their children.**

**Really hope you like it, would love some feedback.**

**_To the real Livie: thanks for all your help writing this story, it has been a pleasure writing this with you, without your help, it wouldn't be possible. I hope there are many more to come because I feel we have started something amazing._**

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Chapter 1

Ziva quickly slipped through the crowds of people standing in front of the arrivals gate as she heard the overhead speaker announcing the arrival of the flight from New York.

She arrived at the front just as the doors opened and she eagerly scanned the sea of faces for the one she wanted to see. As she did so, she allowed her mind to wonder slightly. She thought about what was happening at NCIS and how they were going to explain everything. She brushed her hair out of her face as she sidestepped a large suitcase before she let out a gasp of surprise as she felt arms wrap around her from behind and a very familiar giggle echoed in her ear. "Wow I think your ninja skills are slacking mom" came a cheeky voice and Ziva laughed as she spun round to see a very familiar girl standing behind her; a girl with wild dark brown hair naturally colored with lighter streaks and bright cheeky glinting greenie gold eyes, carbon copies of her father's.

"Tali" she exclaimed in delight and she instantly gathered her daughter up into her arms hugging her tightly as Tali dropped her bag and hugged her back. Ziva smiled happily as they stood there hugging each other before she kissed the top of Tali's head, "oh I have missed you tateleh" she murmured and Tali pulled away to grin at her "missed you too ima" she said.

Ziva studied her carefully "you have a tan" she said and Tali laughed "yeah the Hamptons are sooo nice, Livie and I spent ages sunbathing" Ziva grinned before she wrapped an arm around her daughter "come on then" she said "I want to hear everything"

"Mom I told you most of what happened when we talked on the phone" Tali said as she grabbed her bag and they headed out of the airport towards the parking lot "ah yes but it isn't the same" Ziva said with a smile and Tali rolled her eyes.

"Where's dad" she asked "and AJ, I cant wait to see how much he as grown" "you wont recognize him" Ziva told her, referring to her one and a half year old son Aiden Jethro, more commonly known as AJ. "He is at day care my love and your father is at work, he is trying to finish his paperwork so that we can head home early tonight" "yay" Tali said with a grin and Ziva smiled as they arrived at the car and placed Tali's suitcase in the boot before they scrambled in and Ziva gunned the engine and sped out of the car park.

"So how is everyone else" Tali asked "Gibbs, Abby, McGee" she was surprised to see her mom hesitate slightly when she mentioned McGee's name "they are all fine" she said quickly "they are all looking forward to seeing you… and they have lots to tell you"

"Really" Tali said warily "like what". Her mom looked at her and smiled "I'll let them tell you" she said before she changed the subject "so what else did you do in the Hamptons aside from sunbathing". Tali eyed her but hesitantly accepted the change and began to tell her about her time away.

XO

Tali looked at her mom as they rode the elevator up to their floor of NCIS, she had been away for three weeks in New York with a friend of hers, Livie Beckett. Her mom and dad had been really busy at work after a huge serial killer case had come in and when Livie had heard, she had invited her up to New York for a bit. It had been nice to get away and visit Livie, a friend she had met through McGee when he had introduced her to her stepfather - the crime novelist Richard Castle - whom he had met at a writer's dinner. She and Livie had hit it off quickly and when her parents had been knee deep in cases and Livie had invited her up for a bit, her parents had been willing to let her go realizing it might be better for her. She had enjoyed herself but was eager to settle back into her normal life again.

She looked at her mom who was standing very quietly "mom is everything OK" she asked. Ziva looked at her "um yes" she said with a small smile "though we do have something to tell you about… well Tim does" Tali raised an eyebrow 'Tim' she thought quizzically, usually everyone went by their surnames.

The doors to the elevator opened then and with a smile she leapt out. "Dad" she said spotting him sitting at his desk tossing a ball up and down. He looked over and a huge grin spread across his face "hey there's my ninja" he said leaping up and moving round his desk to scoop her up into a big bear hug "ah missed you princess" he murmured. She grinned hugging him tightly back resting her head into the curve of his neck "missed you too daddy" she mumbled, he kissed the top of her head before releasing her and she turned.

"Hiya Gibbs" she said grinning "hey shortcake" he said pulling her into a hug "how was New York" she grinned "busy" she said, before turning. "So _Tim_ mom says that you…" she trailed off in surprise staring at McGee who looked really worried and really uncertain, and she also stared at the person standing next to him.

Standing in front of the big monitor staring back at her was a girl, older than she, maybe around fifteen, with dark brown hair with lighter tints that was tied up in a messy ponytail, prominent facial features and cautious green eyes which stared at Tali. She was tall and slender, her arms were folded over her chest and she narrowed her eyes at Tali as she chewed her lip as though sizing her up.

Tali blinked in shock uncertain of how to react; as she took the girl in she straightened up uncertainly, defensive about this strange new person's hostility towards her, she too crossed her arms and eyeballed her.

They both stood there almost glaring at each other, sizing each other up. Tali felt confused, who was this girl, standing in their bullpen as if she owned it? She hardened her gaze at the girl, trying to make it clear that this was their bullpen, but the girl glared back almost possessively. To the side she heard her dad mutter "is it just me or did the temperature drop considerably suddenly"

"Tali" Gibbs said and there was a firm edge to his voice, slowly Tali looked away from the girl to him. He gave her a look "Tali this is Blair McGee… Blair this is Talia DiNozzo whom you have heard about" the other girl, Blair nodded not taking her eyes off of Tali. "How come I haven't heard about her" Tali asked glancing around, then she stopped "wait a minute Blair… McGee did you say" she looked at McGee still sitting at his desk "I thought your sister was called Sarah".

McGee gulped "um yes my sister is called Sarah but um Blair isn't my sister" he glanced at Blair "um Blair is my …um… she's my daughter"

Tali blinked and stared at him waiting for him to laugh and tell her it was a joke, but he still looked at her uncertainly. "Um" she managed "she's your… what now"? "I'm his daughter" Blair said stiffly and Tali looked back at her before she looked back at McGee. "Seriously I visit my friends for three weeks and in that time you got a daughter huh really confused" she spun round to face her parents "um what" she asked. Her dad shrugged "yeah we were just as shocked as you but we tested it and it's true, Blair is McProbie's daughter"

"Huh" Tali said turning back to Blair who was still eying her stiffly. "Blair" McGee muttered "cool it, Tali is fine; I have known her since she was a baby". Blair's jaw clenched slightly and her eyes flickered to McGee before she looked back at Tali, then she abruptly stormed out of the bullpen and disappeared down the stairs.

Tali spun round to look at her parents "so when I asked you 'what's new' on the phone you didn't think that telling me that McGee has a daughter is something new I needed to know about"

"We didn't know how to tell you on the phone" Tony said uncertainly "I mean would you have believed us". Tali thought "I dunno" she said "I mean how did you find her". The team explained how Blair had turned up in the bullpen late one night and after a while had confessed to them that she was McGee's daughter. They had accepted her in once they had learned about her foster homes. Once they were done, Tali stood there quietly before she nodded. "Is there a reason that she doesn't like me" she asked, they all shrugged.

"She is quite a secretive girl" Gibbs said "she has been through a lot without anyone to trust, I would guess she came here and for the first time felt safe and loved, then all of a sudden you show up and she realizes she has to share everything here with someone who is already used to being here" he looked at McGee "and I don't think mentioning that you had known Tali since she was a baby was such a good idea, I think she got a bit jealous"

McGee nodded sadly "yeah I know, but I am still not sure about this parenting thing, now I have a frosty teenage to deal with who doesn't like Tali" "go talk to her Tim" Ziva said softly "you are her father" Tim looked uncertain but slowly nodded and headed towards the stairs after Blair.

Once he had disappeared Tali looked around "anything else I should know" she asked "Abby have an evil twin". Gibbs cracked a smile "no Blair is the only new person, you should go see Abby though she was very excited about seeing you, that probably annoyed Blair a bit too". Tali nodded "I'll go down now" she said "maybe when I get back I can try and smooth things over with Blair cus I take it she is staying" she looked around "Tim filed for adoption papers" her mom said "but they are still processing it and running checks" Tali nodded and grinned at them "see you later then" she said and disappeared towards the elevator that would take her to Abby's lab.

Once she had disappeared from sight Tony looked at his boss and wife "well um, that went well" he said. They both just looked back at him worried. Blair and Tali were both very strong and stubborn girls, protective of what they had and very careful about whom they trusted. They had expected a bit of friction between the two of them but not this much. They had hoped the two of them would get close but it appeared that Blair did not want to share this new life she had with anyone else, whilst Tali had been away they had all pretty much treated her how they treated Tali.

Now Tali was back and that affection would have to be shared between the two of them and Blair wasn't happy about that. Tali might be OK with it but she didn't seem to like the idea of allowing her in, especially with all the frosty treatment she had been receiving. She had responded to that treatment in a way that was natural to her, cautiously and just as harshly, firing it back at her in an attempt to portray herself as equal. She was two years younger than Blair and she wasn't going to let Blair become dominant over her because of her age.

Tony sighed "this is going to be a long week if Tali and Blair didn't sort this out quickly" he said and Tony and Ziva nodded, "the problem is" Gibbs said "which one will be the one willing to step down from their high horse and offer peace" Tony sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Ziva looked at him confused "high horse" she asked "Blair doesn't have a horse and neither does Tali" "um it's a saying" Tony said as he headed back to his desk "I'll explain later"…

XO

Tim moved down the stairs, not extremely quickly, he needed time to figure out how to address his daughter. Honestly, he'd expected Blair and Tali to get on well, and in time, be the best of friends. Obviously it was going to be a lot harder than first thought. Pausing at the top of the next flight of stairs, he looked down to see Blair sitting at the bottom the steps. She must of heard him approaching as she glanced up as he neared her.

She moved over slightly, as he sat next to her, she didn't say anything to start with, thinking about her words. "I don't know if this is gonna work, Tim" she said with a quiet sigh, looking down at her hands. "You haven't even given it a try Blair. You don't even know the girl yet." He replied, trying to get her attention. Still refusing to look at him she muttered, "I just don't like her." He could tell she was frustrated. "Why?" He asked, and her head finally came up, "She has everything, I don't." She said simply. "You know that's not true." Blair shook her head, and played with the sleeve of her top, "What I have isn't permanent. I know that, and all you guys should too."

Tim thought about that for a moment, he knew that it could be possible for the adoption to fall through, none of them were thinking that though, or voicing the negatives of the situation. "Yeah, that's true. I guess that it might not work out, but that's only a small possibility. It's more likely to happen Blair; we all know that, that's why we haven't said anything about it." She nodded her head, still not really believing him. "Whatever" she mumbled. He caught hold of her eye before speaking again, "You promise you'll try get on with Tali then"

She shrugged in a blasé way, "Fine." He smiled, "Thank you." At that, Blair shrugged again, "Not much else I can do right" She stood and he copied her, "How about we go down see Abby" He asked and she gave a small nod, a small smile returning on her face, then it dropped, "She'll be there though." He rolled his eyes, "What did you just say Blair, you said you'd try to get on with her." Blair pulled a face. "Ugh, fine. Let's go then." She said, forcing a smile on her face as they continued down the stairs.

XO

Tali exited the elevator and headed into Abby's lab and was greeted as usual by the loud music. Abby was standing with her back to her talking to Palmer and Ducky who were listening intently, then Ducky spotted her and smiled "Abby" he said "there is someone who wants to see you"

Abby spun round and a huge beam split across her face "Tali" she squealed "you're back" Tali laughed and hugged Abby as she leapt at her. "Hey Abs" she said "how's it going" "aw you know me, happy as long as I have my forensics, my team and a CaffPow" the scientist said "so how about you, how was New York, meet any guys" "Abby" Tali laughed "I'm 13 years old". Abby grinned "yeah but I have seen you with your lover boy Amir" Tali rolled her eyes "he is just a friend" she said grinning then she turned "hey Ducky, Palmer how's is going, don't often see you two this high up" "ah definitely your father's daughter ay miss Tali" Ducky said moving forward to hug her and she giggled as she hugged him and Palmer back.

"So um has Timmy told you his news" Abby asked hesitantly. Tali nodded "well he didn't tell me, she was just standing there giving me the cold treatment when I walked in, but they explained it all" "she is a nice kid Tali" Abby said softly "just a bit lost that is all". "Yeah well nice to everyone except me, seriously if looks could kill" Tali said "I don't think she likes me much" "give it time" Ducky said "the poor girl isn't sure who she can trust" Tali nodded slowly.

At that moment McGee appeared in the doorway with Blair right behind him looking slightly happier until she spotted Tali sitting on the stool and she frowned again. Slowly Tali slipped off the stool, she didn't want to make it look like she was possessing everything here, but she also didn't want to let Blair think she could walk all over her. "Hi Blair" Abby said "I hear you have already met Tali" Blair nodded stiffly before looking at Abby "hey will you still show me how to use the mass spectrometer tomorrow Abby" she asked. Abby nodded eagerly "of course, Tali are you going to join us" she asked obviously looking for a way to ease the tension between the two of them and Blair visibly tensed. Tali smiled "no it's good" she said "I already know how to use it so I'll let Blair learn, plus I need to start using the gym again, I was slacking in New York" Blair rolled her eyes, but looked happier that Tali wasn't going to be interfering.

Abby nodded and looked at the clock "well I think it is time to shut my babies down and head home" she said, McGee nodded "yeah your parents are packing up upstairs Tali and Blair we should head home". Both girls nodded and followed him into the elevator. Tim stood behind as they stood in front of him at opposite ends of the elevator. It was surprising how much distance you could get in such a small box. The tension in the elevator was so thick you could cut it with a knife and he felt very uncomfortable, neither of the girls did anything, they just stood there and refused to look at each other. He was relieved when they arrived at their floor and they both leapt out, he sighed 'this was going to be a long week' he thought.

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**Hope you liked it – If you have any questions please don't hesitate to inbox me and I will answer as best I can. **

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**Thanks **

**Xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi thanks to phnxgrl for the review and positivity. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 2

The next few days did drag by very slowly with the two moody teenagers. Tony, Ziva and McGee all tried very hard to get the two of them to get along but neither of them seemed willing. Blair was hostile towards Tali and acted very dominantly, which of course Tali didn't like; she was the sort of girl who didn't let anyone tell her what to do unless they had earned her trust, and Blair didn't want to try and gain her trust. She ignored the young DiNozzo as though hoping that if she pretended she wasn't there, she might disappear and be forgotten.

Gibbs pretty much ignored the hostility between the two girls but treated them fondly separately. So when his three other agents came to him on the third day after Tali's return he knew what they wanted to discuss. Tali had gone down to the gym where she spent a lot of time and Blair was either with Abby or Ducky hanging out with them, doing her best to avoid Tali.

"Boss what are we going to do" McGee asked him, Gibbs looked at them "about what" he asked. They all gave him a look "Blair and Tali" Ziva said "we were hoping that their dispute would have ended by now but if anything it is getting worse". Gibbs sighed, that was true, with each day Blair got grumpier about Tali's presence and Tali's dislike of the cold treatment was getting worse and she was getting ever more hostile every time they were in the same vicinity as each other.

"Let them sort it out" he said "we have been" Tony said "for three days". "Leave them too it" Gibbs persisted "they are teenagers, soon they will sort it out, just leave them too it, don't try to push them ok, pushing a teenager is never a good idea". All three of his agents looked very doubtful but slowly they all nodded sighing and moved slowly back to their desks. Gibbs sighed and stood up, heading towards Vance's office to give him an update on the case. 'Things would sort themselves out', he decided, 'you just had to give it time'.

XO

Blair stepped out of the autopsy room and into the elevator and pressed the button as the doors closed thinking. She wasn't too sure about the DiNozzo girl, Tali. Before she had met her, she had of course heard a lot about her. Tony called her his ninja and his princess and it was clear that both he and Ziva adored her. Blair had been ok with her when she had just been talk, now she was here in flesh and body. She had seen the delighted reaction she had gotten from Tony and Gibbs at her return. Tali was part of this little family, a little family she had only just become a part of. She was still an outcast.

The doors to the elevator opened and she scowled when she realised she had pressed the wrong button, instead of arriving at the floor to Abby's lab where she had intended to go; she had arrived at the floor to the gym. She reached out to press the button for the correct floor but then she stopped, curious.

In the gym she could see Tali standing in a boxing ring attacking a punching bag pummelling it with her fists a vicious angry snarl on her face. Curiously Blair stepped out of the elevator and into the gym to watch this strange young girl beat up the punch bag. As she watched Tali fight she tried to access this eccentric girl, trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next.

XO

Tali opened her eyes and looked down at the timer on the running machine, it told her she had been running for an hour and a half at a good steady speed. She smiled to herself and began to gradually slow the pace until it was a gentle walk. Then she hopped off it and moved over to wear she had left her things, including her water bottle and her wrist strapping. She tugged her headphones out of her ears and laid her iPod on her fleece. She took a quick drink of water before she looked at the centre ring where the punching bag rested. She considered it before she looked around and saw that there were only a couple of other agents in the gym training elsewhere.

She smiled again to herself and grabbed the strapping and the rest of her things and lay them on the edge of the ring before she scrambled in and began to strap up her wrists before she took a deep breath and began to circle the bag leaping up onto her toes to dance around it nimbly. Then she struck out at the bag with her fists before leaping back dancing clear before leaping forward again striking low before swinging her leg up to kick it. She repeated this for a while before lashing out at it again and pummelling it hard.

She felt some of the frustration she felt ebb away so she struck it again and again, angry.

"I hope all that anger isn't supposed to be aimed at me"

She whirled round with a tiny hiss to see Blair leaning against one of the ropes around the ring watching her quietly. Tali stared at her breathing hard "not all of it" she said quietly before she turned back to the punching bag and resumed her dancing around it before she leapt back into the hitting it again and again. She could feel Blair's eyes on her but she ignored the other girl, giving her some of her own treatment.

"Why do you punch so much" Blair asked and Tali paused breathing hard. "I mean all it is giving your opponent is a few bruises, roundhouse kick to the throat would have them choking and gasping on the floor, you should learn how to really take someone out"

Tali glanced over her shoulder at the other girl before lashing out again striking at it with her fists before leaping away and whipping her leg up and round smacking it into the punch bag hard making it swing crazily.

She looked back over at Blair "I already know how to take someone out" she said coolly, "much better than you do, I know a lot more about fighting, violence and even killing than you ever will, but I don't aim to have my opponent 'choking and gasping on the floor" she looked at Blair who was watching her with her eyebrows raised. "Because I don't aim to hurt people, I don't aim to kill, all I want to do is defend myself and get away from the danger, if it comes to it, sure I have given a fair few kicks to the throat but that is never my first move, I don't want to hurt people"

Blair eyed her; she obviously didn't believe her when she said she knew about fighting. Tali moved back over to her things and began to unwrap her wrists, bending over to pick up her water bottle and she took a long drink before she turned to face Blair. "Why do you hate me so much" she asked. Blair smirked before she pulled herself up into the ring and moved slowly to the centre circling the punch bag. "I don't hate you" she said "I just don't particularly like you that is all". Tali eyed her "what have I ever done to you that has caused you to hate me so much" she asked. Slowly Blair came over "I think you are selfish" she saidsimply, shrugging. Tali blinked "selfish" she repeated "well I have been called a lot of things through my life … bitch… stuck up… freak… looser… I won't bore you with them all but I have never been called selfish before"

She looked at Blair "why do you think me selfish" she asked "aren't you being slightly selfish". Blair snorted "I have nothing to be selfish over, I have nothing, you have everything and you treat it so vaguely, a loving family, good education, friends…" she paused "people who love you… I have none of that, I have spent my whole life being shipped from place to place, being kicked out of families, failing education due to moving so much and then I finally find my real father and a family that cares for me.

Then you come in treating life like it is just a game, spending three weeks in New York with world famous author Richard Castle and his daughter, riding horses, lying on a beach in the Hamptons, acting as if you own it all, I saw how the team treated you, so affectionately, even Tim, he praises you all the time, how bright you are, how brave you are" she scowled "and whilst you have had this amazing childhood free of pain and suffering I have been beaten black and blue, lost people never knowing what it was like to be loved until I found Tim, and then you come and take it all away againyou take everything for granted Tali. Do you even realise that?"

Tali stared at her before she began to speak slowly and carefully "I won't deny that I have loved my life growing up at NCIS and I am sorry that your life was hard, but I think you do not understand me properly". Blair snorted and turned away; Tali leapt forward and caught hold of her arm. "Hear me out" she insisted "My life hasn't been this perfect hurt free world that you think it was, I have been hurt, I have lost people, mostly my family. More times than I would like have we all been ripped apart and hurt, more times than I can remember I have had to pick myself up off the floor and carry on only to get knocked down again, you think you have me all figured out but you don't, you don't know half my story, the half of my story that our family…" she paused to empathise the 'our' before she continued "all know about but never talk about because of how painful it was for us all…" she looked at Blair who was looking at her with her face expressionless. "Make sure you truly understand someone before you judge them" she said quietly "because what I just said has barely scratched the surface of the pain this team has been through"

She released Blair and moved away again. "Sounds like you caused them a lot of pain" Blair said and Tali froze before she cocked her head to the side "what" she asked trying to keep her voice calm but struggling. She saw the people standing close to them look up recognising the dangerous note in her voice. "I said it looks like you caused them a lot of pain" Blair said again "what you do run away?... betray them? … commit a crime… ooo you said you knew something about killing people, is that what you did… kill someone…" Blair's originally dead expression, perked up at that. Tali might not be as perfect as she seemed**. **

Tali snapped her head back round to glare at her "I would never betray them" she snapped "never" Blair's eyes gleamed with the thrill she was getting from taunting her. "Ah so you did commit a crime… you killed someone didn't you, wow who was it, must have been someone bad otherwise you would be in juvenile detention, or did they get you cleared of it, cus you are mommy and daddy's little princess" Tali could see she was just pressing her buttons, she didn't know if what she was saying was true, but all she wanted to do was wind her up, and Tali hated to admit it but it was working. She responded automatically, almost without thinking, fighting to keep that ever present anger from bubbling over by using verbal aggression rather than physical aggression because all she wanted to do right now hit Blair hit her smug face hard, wipe the smile off her face.

"I am not the one who has a criminal record here" she said and she saw Blair's smile falter slightly and that was all she needed to encourage her to keep going. "I know about that, I saw your file… I know I shouldn't have read it but I was uncertain about you and I wanted to make sure you weren't going to hurt my family any more than they have already have been hurt, I found your rap sheet, stealing, seriously wow ok, so don't judge me when you aren't as perfect as you claim to be ok. You looked nice in your mug shots by the way."

She turned away and moved towards her things waiting for Blair's comeback.

Blair's eyes narrowed on the younger girls back as she walked away from her. The last comment had angered her, to a point where she rarely reached. She didn't seem to be able control what came next, it just happened

The comeback hit Tali harder than she had expected and literally too. One minute she was moving towards her things, the next she was being thrown sideways as Blair launched herself at her knocking her to the ground. Instantly Tali reacted; the moment she hit the floor she was rolling away before she sprang up into a defensive crouch as Blair leapt up glaring at her. Slowly she too rose keeping her eyes on Blair "don't do that again" she said firmly. "You little bitch" Blair hissed, Tali narrowed her eyes at her "been called that before sorry" she said, Blair snarled at her and leapt at her again but Tali dodged with ease "hey" she said sharply "don't try and take me on, I can guarantee that I can take you"

"Oh yeah" Blair hissed "I have spent my whole life scrapping, fighting for resources; you can't take me, what makes you think you can". Tali backed away maintaining their distance so that she circled her "well I can sum that up in one word" she said "Mossad". Blair laughed "yeah I know all about where your mother came from, doesn't mean you can fight, you are a spoiled selfish brat, I bet you have never even hit someone in your life, you may try to act like you can, punching the punch bag but seriously you can't ok, you know nothing about the true violence of the world, you just sit in that bullpen and hear about it, I bet you have never even seen someone die, I have, and it hurts to loose someone you care about"

"You don't know anything about my life" Tali shouted "I have seen more pain and death than you, hell I have even been close to death, I have nearly died ok, I know the feeling of your life draining out of your body seeing your loved ones fade away knowing you are leaving them behind, don't talk to me about pain ok" she felt angry now and was fighting to keep it under control. Blair still glowered at her angrily "look at you" she hissed "oh everyone needs to feel sorry for me, everyone must love me" she spoke mockingly and Tali clenched her fists angrily "shut up" she snapped "you are the one who wants to be loved, you have driven family after family away, yes some of them may have beaten you but what about the others, the ones who truly wanted you to be a part of their family, no you drove them away, refused to even try, that is why you don't have a family, because you never tried to keep one, you don't care about anyone but yourself"

Blair lost it and launched herself at her, Tali dodged but to give Blair credit she was fast and managed to stop herself and twist round launching herself at Tali knocking her back to the ground. Tali scrabbled to get away kicking out at her but she was bigger than her and punched Tali in the stomach. Tali grunted briefly curling inwards and Blair used that moment to use her weight to pin her down grabbing her wrists, Tali fought but Blair was strong and managed to pin her, sitting on her stomach and using one foot to pin one of Tali's wrists and one hand to pin the other one down.

She let out a laugh as Tali struggled to free herself "yeah great little fighter you are" she hissed and out of the corner of her eye Tali saw the other two people in the gym sprint out. She looked back at Blair who still looked pissed "take it back bitch" she hissed "go on, take it back, and get used to this because I am staying, I will be here and I will keep on ignoring you but get used to it, because I beat you, you are not the little princess of the bullpen now, get used to it, because I will beat you again if you ever say anything about my past to anyone"

She looked at Tali who let out a stream of curses in Hebrew making Blair laugh "those people are right about you" she said "you are a freak, a loser, accept it".

Tali spat in her face angrily and Blair let out a snarl grabbing her throat hissing angrily. Tali choked as her hand tightened around her throat, before she stopped struggling. "You think you beat me" she choked out "well you're wrong, you didn't, I let you pin me". Blair laughed "and why on earth would you do that" she sniggered, Tali smiled "so that you would underestimate me" she choked out.

She lifted her legs up and jammed her knees into the small of Blair's back. Blair gasped arcing her back and Tali used that distraction to twist her leg round and kick Blair's foot that trapped her hand knocking it off. She used her free hand to strike Blair across the face stunning her so that Tali could twist her body, displacing Blair and leap free.

She leapt at Blair who rolled over just in time for Tali to kneel next to her, using one hand to pin her throat and the other to pin her hands above her head. Blair tried to repeat the trick Tali had used but Tali wasn't on top of her so she couldn't, and Tali used her foot to pin her ankles down. Blair strained and thrashed but Tali carefully tightened her grip on her throat until she stopped struggling glaring at Tali in hatred.

"You know everyone always underestimates me" Tali commented "I like it really, means I win a lot of fights, but it does get boring after a while". Blair hissed angrily "I was willing to accept you into my family" Tali said "but now I just feel pissed off at you, I tried to warn you not to fight me but you didn't listen so I suggest whilst you can't do anything else because I have you pinned and you can't escape, you do listen". Blair snarled, fighting again but to no avail, she could buck her body but Tali kept clear of that and kept most of her weight on her the hand and foot pinning Blair's wrists and ankles, using the other foot to balance herself against Blair's struggles.

"You listening" she asked "because there are a few things you should know about me if we are going to be spending a lot of time together and I won't warn you again, firstly don't try and dominate me, I don't take it very well, secondly don't think you know a thing about me because you don't ok, third… my family is the most important thing in the world to me, don't think that I don't care for them, I risked my life protecting them, now if you are going to be a part of McGee's life then that means you will be a part of our family, a part of my family, and I show the same loyalty to everyone in my family so unfortunately that applies to you, but if you ever hurt anyone in our family I will not hesitate to hurt you ok, my family has been betrayed many times, I hate seeing how much it hurts them and I don't want to see that pain again, especially from McGee, he is the kindest most loving man I have ever met who can talk about computers and still make it make sense, he doesn't deserve to be hurt, especially from someone like you… do you understand"

Blair didn't respond she just looked daggers at her. At that moment there was a ding as the elevators opened and she heard her father exclaim "Tali"!.

XO

Tony, Ziva and McGee were all in the bullpen working when the elevator doors burst open and one of their agents Dorneget came rushing out in his gym wear followed by another agent from a different floor, he skidded to a stop in front of Tony's desk before he bent over gasping. "Ew Dorneget go have a shower" Tony said wrinkling his nose "you need to get to the gym" the agent gasped "um no thanks" Tony said confused. "No seriously" Dorneget said "Tali and um what's her name… Blair they are down there… Blair has Tali pinned to the floor"

All three of them stared in shock before they all leapt up and rushed to the elevator leaping in and heading down to the gym. "Ah this is not good" Tony muttered as they travelled down, the lift stopped and they all leapt out "yep definitely not good" Ziva said as they spotted Tali and Blair in the wrestling ring. The scene Dorneget had described though had been reversed and now it was Tali who had Blair pinned and she was bending over her speaking angrily her hand at Blair's throat.

"Tali" Tony exclaimed in shock

She looked over to see them all staring at her shocked as she crouched over Blair holding her down. She remained where she was breathing heavily before looking back at Blair and then back at her parents. "Hey she attacked me" she said "I just stopped her" Blair let out a snarl then and used Tali's distraction to throw her entire weight at Tali knocking her backwards. Tali leapt to her feet as Blair moved towards her and they resumed the circling glaring at each other.

"Well looks like the sequel to _The Hunger Games_ came out earlier than expected" Tony muttered "cus this looks like a definite fight to the death". Ziva gave him a dark look as the two girls circled each other like rival wolves about to go for the kill. Blair had a steady hiss escaping from her lips and her eyes gleamed with anger and Tali had a feral snarl on her face, one Tony recognised; she was pissed and struggling to stay in control and not hurt Blair.

"Ziva call Gibbs" he muttered before he called out sharply "Tali… Blair, enough… back away now". Neither of them did so though, they didn't want to be the one to step down and back away, to be the one that appeared weak.

Blair was still glaring, wide eyed at Tali "you are such a bitch" she hissed. "Blair" Tim exclaimed, surprised that his daughter would go to such a level to show who she was**,** but both circling girls ignored him. "Yeah you keep saying it like it is supposed to affect me" Tali said "well it doesn't ok"

"Tali step away" Tony said sharply getting worried now, they were both very wired up the pair of them, any minute now one of them might snap. "Listen to daddy little DiNozzo" Blair hissed "back down". Tali didn't move, Tony could see her trembling with anger. "We both said things we shouldn't" she said slowly "bad things about each other, now we have gotten our feelings off of our chests, can we call it truce" Blair eyeballed her in a way that Tony knew meant no.

"You are so proud" Tali exclaimed angrily "Tali" Tony warned but she was stressed and annoyed and she ignored him carrying on. "I know you want to protect everything you have but I am not going to take that away from you, I swear I am no threat to you, the only thing threatening you is yourself and your pride" For a moment the two looked at each other and for a split second Tony thought they were going to stop, call it truce.

"Blair NO" McGee then shouted as Blair launched for Tali angrily expecting her dodge and changing direction and slamming into her. She flung Tali to the floor before leaping over and standing over her as Tali tried to leap up she kicked Tali hard in the stomach. Instantly Tali snapped swinging her leg out to knock Blair to the floor, they both rolled over and for a split second they glared icily at each other then Blair narrowed her eyes at Tali in an almost inviting way 'come and get me' she appeared to be saying and already wound up and angry Tali launched at her knocking her backwards.

Instantly they began to fight, punching and kicking each other scrabbling at each other madly, curses in English and Hebrew being thrown at each other as they clawed at each other pulling at each other's hair. "Blair Tali stop it" McGee shouted uncertain about how to get in there. Tony stared, this fight was fuelled by pure rage and he had never seen a fight quite like it; they rolled around trying to gain the upper hand, Blair kept trying to pin Tali using her size and weight obviously to try and dominate her, Tali scratched and clawed at her determined not to let her.

Ziva reappeared "oh my god" she said staring before she turned to the two men "what in the hell" she exclaimed "um" Tony said "hard to say who started it". Suddenly there was a squeal from the ring and Tali leapt away clutching her wrist glaring daggers at Blair who leapt back towards her and resumed their scrabbling, then they saw what had made Tali squeal because as Tali tried to pin her down Blair sank her teeth into Tali's arm again, Tali let out another high pitched squeal of pain but this time she didn't let go she just kicked out angrily.

"I honestly don't care who started it" Ziva exclaimed leaping towards the ring "but we are finishing it". She ducked in moving towards the two girls shouting to Tali in Hebrew. Tony looked at McGee and then they both scrambled up into the ring after her. They both leapt towards their daughters leaping over their scrabbling limbs. "Pin her down" Tony shouted to McGee who nodded and grabbed Blair's shoulders pulling her away but the two of them almost clung to each other determined to hurt each other. Swearing Tony bent and managed to catch hold of Tali and almost tore her off Blair lifting her up; she let out an angry growl and continued to struggle in his grip.

Blair leapt away from McGee, wrenching herself free and leapt at Tali and Tony her eyes blazing with anger. "Hey" Tony shouted as she leapt at Tali once more, he spun round trying to separate them but Tali was still thrashing trying to get to Blair again and he staggered as he struggled to beep hold of her. Ziva leapt forward "Blair" she shouted pulling Blair away and stepping in between her and Tony "Blair stop it" she shouted pushing the older teenager away as she leapt forward again.

"McGee I don't care how you do it but please subdue her" Tony shouted as Blair struggled to get past Ziva who was managing to keep her back for now but Tali was squirming in his grip and he could feel her wriggling free. "Tali" he growled and then swore as she slipped free ducking past her mother who grabbed for her before she slammed back into Blair who grabbed at her delighted to resume their fight. Ziva leapt forward and threw the two girls apart gaining herself scratches up and down her arms from them scrabbling to catch hold of each other. McGee leapt at Blair and pulled her backwards as Ziva grabbed Tali yelling in Hebrew, everything was complete turmoil.

"Hey" Tony shouted "knock it off NOW" Blair froze for the briefest of seconds and Ziva felt Tali pause in her arms watching Blair who stood there with wide eyesbreathing hard. Then Blair snapped back to it straining to get away from Tim who clung to her determined but struggling to hold on to the feisty teenager. Ziva staggered as Tali fought to free herself "Tali" she gasped "stop it" but Tali was well gone, the ninja part of her taking over.

At that moment Gibbs leapt into the ring leaping towards McGee catching hold of one of Blair's arms, McGee kept hold of the other one and between the two of them they managed to restrain her. Tony moved over to Ziva and caught hold of Tali pinning her arms, holding her tightly so that she could barely move. Ziva stepped between the two struggling girls ready to catch them should they break free.

Gibbs swore angrily before he smacked Blair with a good hard Gibbs slap over the head making her freeze again. "Ziver come hold her" he said and Ziva moved over to take his place pulling Blair's arm behind her back, he marched over to Tony and Tali and gave Tali a good hard slap over the back of the head too making Tali freeze, none of them could remember the last time Gibbs had ever Gibbs slapped Tali.

"Stop it now" Gibbs ordered looking at the two girls who still glared at each other in hatred. "Hey" he shouted and slowly the two girls looked up at him; he glared between the two of them "come on now really" he said "what the hell is wrong with you two" neither of them responded they just scowled at the floor angrily still struggling "oi stop fighting now" Gibbs growled "don't make me cuff you two because I will, don't test me"

Slowly Tali stopped struggling; she knew not to test Gibbs. She stopped fighting her father though the anger never left her face. Gibbs glowered at Blair until she too stopped fighting "right" he said slowly "we are going to let you both go". Instantly they both stiffened like hunting dogs picking up a scent "but I swear to god I will handcuff your hands behind your back if you go for each other again" Gibbs threatened. Neither girl moved, Gibbs waited before he looked at his three agents and nodded; slowly Tony loosened his grip on Tali ready to grab her should she try to go for Blair again, she stood there trembling as McGee and Ziva stepped away from Blair and then all the adults backed away leaving the two of them alone in the middle of the ring refusing to look at each other.

"Good" Gibbs said "now what the hell is wrong with the two of you I mean look at yourselves… go on look". Tony looked at them; they did look bad, they each supported a blackening eye and split lips though Blair's was larger than Tali's. Blair's cheeks and neck were covered in scratches and they each had scratches up and down their arms and Tali had two huge bite marks on her wrists. Gibbs glanced at them both before moving over to Blair studying her wounds and then over to Tali catching hold of her wrists studying the bites.

He sighed and shook his head giving Tali a pointed look "you should know better than to let her wind you up" he said "come on Tali" he said softly. Tali looked down not looking at Gibbs who sighed at her before he turned to Blair "and you" he said and Blair scowled at him "don't look at me like that" he said "what were you doing, winding Tali up, we told you that you shouldn't do that". "Yeah but you didn't tell me why" Blair exclaimed "you tell me not to push her or not to wind her up but you don't say why, is it cus she is everyone's little princess, you can't lay a finger on her"

Tali looked at her angrily "I told you my life wasn't the perfect world you pictured it to be, leave it at that" Blair scowled angrily. "Blair" Gibbs said sharply "listen to me, this dispute between the two of you needs to end, tell us; what is it about Tali that you don't like" he asked wanting to understand the teenager's hatred for Tali. Blair scowled and crossed her arms looking away "Blair" Tim said looking at her "come on"

Blair looked at them all "urgh no one understands" she growled and turned storming away, she ducked out of the ring heading to the elevator slamming her fist against the buttons. "Then help us to understand" Tali called, Blair didn't look back, she just leapt into the elevator the moment the doors opened "I'm getting out of here" she said sharply still refusing to look at any of them. "I'll meet you at home Tim" she said "Blair McGee get back here" Tim called using her full name, he starting to move towards her**,** but Blair ignored him, and the doors to the elevator slid shut after her.

Nobody moved, then they all turned to look at Tali who stood there looking at them, bruised and beaten. "Tali" Ziva whispered looking at her daughter "what happened" Tali sighed "I was just punching the bag and she came in, she said I should learn to punch properly, I showed her that I could and then asked her why she didn't like me and she said she thought I was selfish because I didn't realise how much I had and I treated it too lightly but I told her she didn't understand me" she shuffled. "We both got pissed at each other and she said that it was my fault that we have been through so much pain recently"

They all frowned and Tali ducked her head again "she insulted me a lot, I insulted her a lot, she got pissed and attacked me and pinned me to the floor, that was when you came in". She looked at them "I don't know if she and I can get on you know" she said "I tried but I don't know, she always pushes me aside, I wouldn't mind getting along with her but she doesn't make it very easy". Ziva looked at her daughter beaten and bleeding in front of her and sighed looking around at everyone else. Tony had a worried look on his face too, uncertain about what they would do if indeed Tali and Blair could not end this dispute

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	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Blair hit a few of the buttons once in the elevator. She didn't care what floor she ended up at, as long as it was away from Tali and her family. She knew she wasn't part of it anymore. She'd attacked their princess. Sure, Tali had hit her too, but it wasn't seen the same. She could do no wrong; Blair could. Swearing under her breath, she replayed the last half hour in her head, thinking about how quickly everything had gotten out of control. Being the one that started it, she knew she should feel bad, but she didn't. She was still wired up from the fight, like a racehorse that'd just run a race. She needed to get her anger out somehow. In frustration, she whacked the side of the elevator with her hand causing it to clang loudly on impact.

Sliding down, she sat herself in the corner, bringing her knees up to her chest. She finally looked at the wounds she had sustained and bit her lip only to taste blood. The bitter taste made her gag slightly, but she kept it in check as she studied the scratches from Tali's nails that ran the lengths of her arms; most were only shallow but a few of them were deeper. The blood that had been seeping out had dried, making the scratches look ugly adding to her hellish appearance. She hadn't even looked in the mirror yet. As the elevator reached the chosen destination, it dinged and the doors opened. Hoping no one was there, Blair looked down hiding her face. She suppressed a sigh as the doors started to close when no one got on. Rubbing her hands over her face, she winced as some of the deeper scratches stung at the contact. Pulling her hands away, she noted the spots of blood on them.

She was slightly embarrassed about herself at that moment, the fact that this had been done by a 13 year old girl. She had let herself come off as weak, and everyone had seen.

She didn't even know what floor she was at when the elevator dinged again. This time however, when the doors opened Abby was standing waiting. She took one look at Blair and hurried in. "Oh my god. What an earth happened" she exclaimed, only she had just seen Blair's arms, not her bruised and bloodied face. "Blair! What happened" she asked when Blair finally looked up and Abby's eyes widened when she saw the black eye and the split lip. Blair sighed before replying, "Tali." It was all she needed to say before Abby asked "How bad is Tali?" Her worried tone made Blair stand up and walk to the other side of the elevator. "All you guys care about is Tali. All I hear about is Tali this, and Tali that." She snapped, hitting the side of the elevator again. Abby flinched at the sudden outburst. "Blair, that's not what I meant." She murmured. The teenager rolled her eyes. "But why, who started it?" Abby asked Blair shook her head, wincing slightly. "I don't even know... it happened so fast."

Abby raised her eyebrows, knowing that wasn't true. "Ugh, fine. It was me. But she provoked me!" Blair said, still denying that it was all completely her fault. "Come on" Abby finally started, "Let's get you cleaned up in my lab." Blair looked down at her shoes, "No that's okay, thanks Abby. I said I'd meet dad back at home. So I gotta go." Abby grabbed her wrist, "Please Blair?" She asked, in a worried tone. The girl sighed, and then nodded, "Fine" she muttered. Abby smiled gently at her, "Thank you."

Abby had grabbed her lab's first aid kit and as she was cleaning the scratches on her face and neck. Blair kept flinching away, as it stung more then she had expected. "Sorry." Abby apologised, to which Blair did not reply. "You know, you and Tali remind me of Ziva and I, when I first met her that is." She started and Blair pulled away. "What?" She asked curious. Hoping the story might distract her, Abby began her tale, continuing on with cleaning Blair up. "Well Ziva joined our team after Kate died, I won't go into detail about that. But I hated her. She came and expected to be a part of our team, she was Kate's replacement, but Kate had been my best friend. So I hated Ziva. I refused to try get on with her. We didn't exactly have a massive fight though, but it was hard, now look at us."

Blair finally cracked a small smile as Abby moved on to her arms. "So do you want to tell me why you hate Tali so much?" She questioned. The smile that had appeared on Blair's face disappeared, but she still spoke, "I don't actually hate her. I guess I feel jealous." She paused before continuing, "It's just she has everything... and she doesn't even seem to realise it. She just goes about life, like she has it perfect. Then there's me..." She trailed off, finding that she was now fighting the urge to cry. "I feel really bad Abby. I mean, I started it. But then again at the same time, I don't feel bad." Abby nodded, staying quiet and letting the teenager continue, "I don't know what I feel. At the moment everyone hates me. What do I do about that?" She looked up at the Goth, her eyes teary.

"No one hates you Blair, not even Tali. I think you'd be surprised. You both snapped, but you're both okay. Do you want me to call Tim and tell him you are actually okay, and in my lab?" She asked and Blair shook her head furiously, "No, no, no. Please don't." She pleaded, "I'd rather just go by myself. I just need some fresh air, and space. I don't want to see dad at the moment. He hates me, they all do." Abby gave a half hearted nod. "If you're sure Blair, but Tim doesn't hate you, he's worried about you. I'm sure they all are, did you say where you were going?" She asked the teenager who ignored her first comment. "I said I'd meet him at home, which is where I plan on going, I suppose." She said, and then questioned, "Are you finished?" She looked down at her arm. "Some of those are quite deep Blair." She stated, looking her in the eye. Blair avoided her and glanced away before standing up, "Nothing I haven't coped with before." She muttered it quietly before pulling her arm away, and ran out of the lab.

Abby watched the girl run out of the lab and gave a small sigh before she thought about her and Ziva when she had first arrived; they had pretty much hated each other's guts. Now they were very protective of each other and hated it if the other got hurt. She thought about Tali and Blair; Tali was a lot like Ziva, willing to let Blair in but responding to the hatred Blair gave her in the same way; defending herself. Blair was acting just like she had done when Ziva had first arrived; unwilling to allow the new person that she didn't know into her family.

Abby slowly packed way her first aid kit and put it away. She had hoped that the relationship between Tali and Blair would have the same ending as the one between her and Ziva, but after looking at the cuts and bruises across Blair's arms and face, she was worried that that might not be the case anymore. That this feud might not get better, that it might get worse instead and if that was the case, then this place might be a very uncomfortable place to work.

XO

As Blair took off out of the lab, she took the stairs down to the ground floor; she sighed and paused for a moment, thinking about where she was going. She knew Tim would be getting home at the first chance he got, so home was out of the question. She smiled when she finally made her mind up and checked the time on her phone, noting the few missed calls she had. Leaving the Navy yard, she gained many stares from the people out there. She began to wish she'd brought a long sleeved top, but with it being Summer time, the sun was beating down, making anything like that too hot.

Glancing down Blair was surprised to see that her legs had gained hardly any scratches in their fights considering that she'd worn shorts that day.

Moving quickly, she made her way out onto the street, only to gain even more stares. Breaking into a run she ran down the roads weaving nimbly in and out of pedestrians until she finally got to her destination. Slowing to a walk she wandered up the dusty driveway. There weren't many people around, making Blair slightly more comfortable with the state she was in. Rounding the old barn, her face broke into a grin as the pretty dapple grey mare neighed out to her. "Hey Missy." Blair greeted the horse as she reached the fence. Missy was pushing on the fence in her excitement, snuffling round Blair's pockets. "Sorry girl no treats today." Blair told her and she snorted. "How bout a brush though?" She offered, running off to grab a brush. She came back, with a handful of grass she'd picked. Offering it to the mare she caught her and tied her up. Missy swung her head round to gaze at her, hoping for another handful grass. Blair showed the horse her empty hands and grinned as she began brushing her, making her grey coat shine.

A while later, Blair stepped back to admire her handy work. She'd groomed the pony till she gleamed. Her mane and tail were knot free and there was not a spec of dirt left on her. Smiling she tossed the brush and it landed with a thud on the other side of the fence.

Leaving Missy tied, she ran over to the shed in the paddock the pony lived in. Reaching round, she grabbed the bridle she had saved up for and brought. No one at the animal shelter knew that Blair rode the pony. She'd come early one morning and taught herself to ride. As she had no saddle she'd fallen off a number of times before she finally learnt how to balance herself on the horses back. Now, after the many mornings spent on it, she found her balance had improved greatly and she could stay on the mare easily.

Bridling the pony, she climbed up on the fence and eased herself onto her back, not wanting to land heavily. Nudging the grey with her heels, Missy moved off eagerly. Blair walked around on her for a bit, before moving into a trot. She had the smoothest trot, it was almost impossible for Blair to bounce around on her now. For the most part, they moved as one. Missy pranced along, her head tucked under proudly, ears pricked, waiting for Blair's next command. The teenager grinned as she pushed the pony into a canter, holding on to a bit of mane as the mare leapt forward into a rhythmical canter.

Eventually Blair slowed the mare down, who puffed out excitedly. "Whoa Missy." Blair murmured to the horse, before walking her round for a bit, to cool her down. She walked her back over to the fence and jumped off, wincing as the movement jarred her battered body, reminding her again, of her fight with Tali. Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone dinged, signalling a message. She tugged it out of her pocket, and frowned at who it was that was messaging her. She opened the message which was simply asking where she was. Sighing, she grumbled under her breath and shut her phone, not answering the text, but not before checking the time and realising she had actually been gone quite a while. Slowly she released Missy after giving her a hug and a kiss on her velvety nose before she put everything back where she found it and after checking she'd shut the gate, she started off back down the driveway.

XOXO

When Blair finally got home, which took much longer than expected due to the fact she dawdled considerably. She hadn't really wanted to go home, she would much rather go somewhere else, where she wouldn't be yelled at for her actions like she knew she was going to be. This had resulted in Blair managing to take the longest way possible home, wandering up and down back roads that led to no where. Eventually she made her way down the street their house was on and turned up the path that led to their front door. Before opening it, she paused for a moment. Then she slowly turned the door knob and slipped inside. From the entrance she could hear the TV on in the living room, so trying to avoid that room, she went to run up the stairs to her bedroom. "Blair?" She heard McGee call and she winced as the TV was muted.

She stayed silent, hoping he would forget about her and go back to whatever he was watching. "Blair? I thought I heard you come in." He said, coming round the corner. Blair pulled a face, and did the one thing she knew how to do best; run. She didn't move fast enough as he grabbed her round the wrist, preventing her from taking off. "Where on earth have you been?" He asked in a loud voice, not quite yelling, but not far off. "Ow. Here we go." She muttered, pulling her arm away, "Blair. Where have you been? I've been worried out of my mind!" He asked her again, and she avoided his eyes, glancing at the floor. "I was with Missy. She's the only one who actually likes me at the moment." She murmured, still not looking up. "Don't be stupid. Of course I care about you. But what the hell got into you earlier?" He questioned, trying and wanting to understand his daughter's actions.

She shrugged before replying, "I don't know. I mean I just snapped. I was so angry. It just built up and I guess I couldn't control it, so I went her." He sighed, "Was that really necessary? What you did was really wrong Blair." She took a step away from him, "So Tali was in the right then? She totally went me, you saw her! It wasn't just me."

He could see the anger building up in her, just by her talking about it, "I know it wasn't just you Blair and I am sure Tony and Ziva are trying to have this conversation with Tali. Now listen; I want you to apologise to Tali." She glared at him. "Why am I the one that should apologise? Did you know that she read my file? I mean, that's private! She still read it! But oh yeah, I forgot. Tali can do no wrong to you guys cuz Tali's perfect." She snapped angrily. Then her gaze on him softened before she asked, "Where's your first aid kit?"

The question made him finally look closely at his daughter's wounds. "In the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom." She nodded, before turning to go up the stairs. She stopped when he called, "Do you need a hand?" She shook her head, not turning to look at him, "No that's okay. I can manage. Abby did them earlier anyway." She finished, finally turning back around. At his confused look she continued, "Abby found me in the elevator." He smiled slightly, "Right. And where did you go after Abby's lab." She rolled her eyes, "None of your business, but I'll tell you anyway... I went to go see Missy." She didn't wait for his reply and disappeared up the stairs.

XO

It was almost comical to watch the expression on Livie's face change as she took Tali in. The moment the Skype call came in and their faces flickered up onto the screen Livie beamed, then she saw Tali and her eyes widened. Tali could barely hold back a smirk "hey Livs how's it going" she asked innocently.

"Tali" Livie exclaimed "oh my god, what in the hell happened to you?" Tali smiled "ah I'm fine Livs, you should see what I did to her" "Talia Kaitlyn DiNozzo you had better tell me what happened to you or I swear to god I am gonna use one of my dad's many murder ideas and enact it on you" Livie threatened. "Ooo full name ouch" Tali said "the only person who calls me by my full name is my dad".

Livie glowered before she twisted in her chair and called "dad what's the most painful way you have written for someone to die?" The voice of Rick Castle floated back cautiously "why, who do you want it for?"

"Fine ok, I'll talk" Tali said grudgingly "never mind" Livie called and twisted back to face her, her gentle brown eyes concerned "seriously Tali, who did that to you" "McGee's daughter Blair" Tali said and waited.

Livie stared "huh" she said "McGee … _Timothy McGee_ has a daughter" "yup" Tali said "and she doesn't like me and to be honest I don't like her much either" she told Livie about their first meeting in the bullpen. "She had already made up her mind that she didn't like me" Tali said "she was glaring daggers at me when I first met her" "why" Livie asked "she said I am a selfish bitch" Tali said "and that I am a spoiled little princess". Livie raised her eyebrows "Tali you are a lot of things; kick ass, fast, a bit blunt and occasionally a bit oblivious, especially when it comes to guys, but I would never call you selfish".

"That is what everyone says, I just think she is jealous of the life I have had compared to the life that she has had growing up" Tali said leaning back against the headrest of her bed "well she shouldn't hate you for that" Livie said "tell me about it" Tali said "I tried to get along but she wouldn't even look at me"

Livie smiled sympathetically "so how did you get that lovely black eye" she asked "ah that isn't even the worst of it" Tali said and held up her wrists to show Livie the two bite marks in her arms "Jesus Tali" Livie exclaimed and Tali smiled weakly before explaining how their fight had started. "I don't really remember the fight much, it is all such a blur, I remember our parents running in and then she leapt at me and kicked me in the stomach and I snapped, I couldn't hold my anger in and the rest is pretty much just anger, I remember seeing a lot of red, but I think that was just me because I was so angry". Livie sighed "Tali you are an awesome friend and I love you dearly and I don't agree with how Blair treats you but you are just as much to blame for that fight as she is…" she held up a hand as Tali made to protest "I know she insulted you and said real bad things about you and that was wrong but you did too and don't you think it was a bit rude to read her file"

"Hey it was on my dad's desk whilst he and the team were out, I just had a look" Tali defended, she looked at Livie trying to make her understand. "What if Ryan or Esposito suddenly had a daughter come waltzing in and started treating you like trash wouldn't you want to check her out" Livie smiled "yes I would but I wouldn't use that against her in a verbal sparring session, you gained the upper hand there but you also pissed her off"

Tali sighed and ran a hand through her hair "I guess" she said. She looked at her friend "I just don't know what to do anymore Livs, I have tried to get along with her but she makes no effort". "Be patient" Livie said "I understand Tali, what she is doing is mean but you cant give her the satisfaction of letting her get to you ok" slowly Tali nodded "thanks Livie" she said softly "any time" she said "just call me your psychologist" she added and winked at her. Tali smiled "so how's everything in the Big Apple" she asked and Livie giggled "guess what my mom and dad nearly died again last week" "uh oh how did they do it this time" Tali asked.

"Their car got pushed into the Hudson river" "esh" Tali said pulling a face and then wincing slightly as her bruises throbbed "yeah tell me about it" Livie said "I think I need to put tracking devices on them"

"I heard that" Livie's mom, Kate said as Tali saw her pass by Livie's room, they both giggled before they began to chatter about everything until eventually it was time to say goodbye. "Well I had better go" Tali said reluctantly looking at the time "talk soon yeah" "definitely" Livie said "oh but Tali" she said "can I offer you some advise" Tali nodded.

Livie looked at her "you want to try and get on with Blair right" Tali slowly nodded "well at the moment you have the upper hand because you read her file and she isn't going to be happy about that" Tali nodded again "so I suggest you even up the playing field a bit, give her something that she can use against you but wont because of what you have against her" Livie said. Tali frowned "how" she asked "I don't know" Livie said "think of something, good luck" "thanks… I think" Tali said and waved before ending the call. She shut her laptop and pushed it away before falling backwards onto her bed sighing and then wincing as she lay on some of the scratches.

There was a gentle knock on her door and she looked over to see her mom entering "how is Livie" she asked moving into her room to sit on the edge of her daughter's bed. Tali smiled "good" she said "I think I gave her a heart attack when she saw me though". Ziva smiled "sit up aheva" she said softly and slowly Tali did as she was told. Ziva held out the bowl of warm water and the cloth she was holding and gently began to clean the wounds on her daughter's arms and face. She let out a small sigh "oh Tali look at the state of you" Tali pulled a face as the warm water stung at her wound "ow" she muttered before looking up at her mother "I'm sorry" she mumbled and Ziva paused to look at her "for what aheva" she asked. Tali looked at her "I shouldn't have let her get to me, I knew she didn't understand me and that she was just antagonising me but I still fell for it, I lost control, I shouldn't have lost control"

Ziva looked at her daughter gently before she picked up the tube of antibacterial ointment and began to dab a small amount onto each of the cuts making Tali wince again. When she got to one on Tali's cheek she looked her daughter straight in the eye as she gently spread the ointment over the cut "we are not mad Tali" she said softly "and you don't have to apologise for loosing control ok, everyone looses control at some point, even I do sometimes".

"But I shouldn't have fought back, I was just so… _angry_" Tali whispered "Tali" Ziva said firmly "what's done is done, you are both to blame, neither of you should have fought but there is nothing we can do about it now except apologise ok". Tali nodded slowly "can you put that stuff on my shoulders" she asked nodding at the tube of ointment, Ziva frowned in confusion and Tali slowly unbuttoned her shirt and twisted to show her mother the scratches on her shoulders from where Blair had grabbed for her and held her.

Ziva sighed at the wounds and washed them carefully wiping the dried blood off of her skin "you two really were determined to kill each other weren't you" Tali just ducked her head uncertainly. Ziva studied her daughter until she finished cleaning the wounds "any others" she asked "don't think so" Tali mumbled shrugging back into her shirt so Ziva reached for her arm and gently began to apply the ointment to the bites taking extra care as she did so but she could feel Tali tensing occasionally as she rubbed the ointment in. "She has a strong bite" Tali mumbled " she broke the skin" Ziva gave her a look "well you weren't letting go of her so she obviously decided she wasn't going to let go of you" she said. Tali frowned "well I didn't have my teeth buried in her arm" "why didn't you just let go" Ziva asked, Tali shrugged "it wasn't that painful, well it hurt yes but after the original shock it was fine, I mean…" she paused and gave her mother a small smile "I have faced worse"

Ziva weakly smiled back before she pulled her daughter into her arms hugging her tight, she felt Tali snuggle up resting her head against her chest. "What are we going to do now" Tali whispered "I mean I am worried that the next time I see Blair I will get mad again and just go for her" Ziva looked down into Tali's greenie gold eyes "you need to find a way to make the peace" she told her daughter. Tali chewed her lip "but how will finding the peace help" she asked "it is pretty obvious she hates me and I am not too keen on her now, what difference will peace make, it wont change how we feel about each other, it might only stop us fighting"

Ziva smiled "did I ever tell you about Abby and I when we first met" Tali shook her head looking up at her curiously. "Well lets just say she despised me" Ziva said, Tali frowned "really" she said "But you are so close, almost like sisters" Ziva smiled "yes but when we first met … well lets just say we were very much like you and Blair, she hated me because I was taking Cait's place and she had loved Cait before she died, it probably didn't help when everyone found out that it was my half brother who had killed her". Tali smiled weakly too "anyway Abby refused to even talk to me, barely even acknowledging that I was in the room, it didn't quite get as violent as your fight but I do distinctly remember a slapping battle between me and her with McGee just standing in the background not sure of what to do"

Tali smiled "so do you think that Blair and I will be like you and Abby" she asked "become best friends" Ziva smiled and kissed her forehead "I am saying that it could happen, all you have to do is persevere". Tali nodded slowly "Livie said I should even up the playing field a bit" she said slowly looking at her mother. Ziva nodded "yes that could help" she said softly and Tali nodded snuggling closer against her chest Ziva smiled down at her and rested her head atop her daughters "things will work out soon aheva" she whispered "I promise"

At that moment there was a loud crash from the kitchen followed by a curse and some giggling followed by some more crashes. Ziva sighed "come on" she said "let us go see what mess your father has made and what part your brother had to play in it" Tali smiled and slowly got up before heading out to the kitchen to find all the pots and pans on the floor. Her dad was crouched next to them trying to hold back Tali's baby brother Aiden. When he heard them enter Tony automatically pointed at his son "his fault" he said. "Tony he is only one and a half, you cant blame him for everything" Ziva said with a sigh moving into the kitchen to scoop her son up "ok I dropped the first one trying not to trip over him but he thought it would be funny to pull the rest out the cupboard" Tony said.

Ziva rolled her eyes at the tiny baby boy in her arms looking at her with bright curious brown eyes that were replicas of her own, she smiled "aren't you being a cheeky boy" she whispered, Aiden giggled happily "tah lee" he squealed and held out his arms to his sister who grinned as she carefully took him. He studied her and then gently reached out and stroked the cut on her cheek "ow" he said, Tali smiled "yes ow" she said softly. Aiden then pressed his finger to his lips and then touched his finger to Tali's cut "kiss better" he said happily and everyone smiled. Tali grinned at him "thanks little buddy" she said softly hugging him; Ziva looked at Tony to find him smiling at her. Right here right now, everything was fine; everything was perfect, in their apartment with their two children where nothing could hurt them.

XO

Tali sat next to her mother's desk eyeing Blair across the bullpen, she had started off next to her dad but when McGee and Blair had arrived and Blair had scowled at her she had moved to her mother's desk which was further away. She saw all of their parents glowering at them and they had both muttered an apology to each other refusing to look at each other but they refused to get any closer and Tali ignored them scowling back at Blair before looking away. Then she remembered that she had been planning to even up the playing field and frowned trying to think of an idea.

When Gibbs came in he looked at the two of them sitting at opposite ends of the bullpen. Blair surfing the internet on her phone and Tali was reading a book with her switchblade in her hand and out of habit she kept flicking it open and shutting it again, keeping her hands busy as she read the book; it was the summer holidays so they had no homework. Gibbs sighed, it was an improvement from yesterday he decided, at least now they weren't trying to tear each other's throats out, and they seemed to be able to at least tolerate being in the same vicinity as each other.

After a while Blair's phone rang and she leapt up and shot towards the stairs to answer it. Tali watched her go thinking about how to even up the playing field then she cocked her head to the side thinking, before she smiled and leapt up moving over to her dad's desk.

"Daaad" she said drawing it out in a way that she knew usually got her what she wanted, and her dad knew it too because he looked up warily. "Yeees" he said slowly, "can you do me a favour" she asked still speaking slowly, smiling innocently at him. He rolled his eyes and they sparkled cheekily "no I will not give you the number of the nearest hit man for Blair". Tali smiled "actually I was wondering if you could dig up a file for me" her dad narrowed his eyes at her "what file and is it going to get me fired cus Gibbs is right behind you" "and listening to every word DiNozzo" Gibbs said not looking up from his work. Tali smiled again "no it isn't illegal I swear, it is to help me to level out the playing field with Blair"

She saw her mother look up at her and smile already guessing what the file was, she looked back at her dad beseechingly and he sighed "god I am such a pushover when it comes to you and your brother" he groaned and Tali grinned and hugged him "thanks" she chimed.

XO

Tali slowly moved down the stairs that she had seen Blair disappear down until she arrived at the bottom where she found Blair sitting on the bottom slight of stairs. She paused thinking about what to do before she slipped down, Blair turned her head and her eyes narrowed when she saw Tali and slowly she shifted. "Don't leave on my account" Tali said slipping past her, she paused and then slowly sat herself on the step lower than Blair, for once allowing her to have the upper status, it worked and Blair relaxed slightly.

Tali settled down and for a few moments they sat in silence "sorry I insulted you" Tali said quietly "I shouldn't have read you file". Out of the corner of her eye she saw Blair look at her "its ok" she said softly "I understand why you did it I guess" she paused before looking at her again "sorry I called you a spoiled little bitch". Tali smiled "it's ok, I guess that I sometimes look like one"

They lapsed back into silence for a minute "so what do you think we should do now" Tali asked. Blair sighed "I don't know, it's complicated, I mean that was a pretty big fight" she eyed the bite marks on Tali's wrists "sorry about biting you" she muttered. Tali smiled and tugged the sleeves of her thin cardigan down over the marks "its ok, I think we did about the same amount of damage to each other" she eyed the deep scratches on Blair's neck, Blair nodded accepting the apology.

They sat in silence for a bit before Tali spoke again "I really want this to work" she said "I want us to at least be able to get on, I mean our parents are best friends, I would hate to drive them apart because we couldn't make peace, and they need to be able to trust each other, to have each other's sixes" Blair wasn't looking at her but she could tell that she was listening. "They need to have each other's sixes to protect each other, and they won't be able to do that if we are constantly at each other's throats"

She paused looking at Blair "so I propose we start again, try and move past what happened yesterday, at least be able to get along, you know, be polite to each other and stuff, doesn't mean we have to be BFFs but if it comes to that I would be happy about that". Blair looked at her "you are right" she said "but I find it hard to move on, to forgive and I don't know if I can move on after yesterday"

Tali smiled "I thought you might say that so I brought something as a peace offering and to even up the playing fields, make us equal". Slowly she reached into her bag and pulled out a thick file and offered it to her. "What is that" Blair asked warily, Tali ducked her head "it is my files, everything there is on me". Blair stared at it flicking it open and staring at the files inside. "You don't know what we have been through" Tali said "and the reason you don't is because it hurts, all of us, but you need to know the truth so … read it, at least then you will know who you are calling a spoiled selfish bitch"

Slowly she stood but Blair didn't move as she slowly headed up the stairs. "Tali" she eventually called and Tali turned slightly looking over her shoulder at her "thank you" Blair said softly looking at her. Tali nodded before she clambered slowly back up the stairs.

Blair eyed the file in her hands thinking, should she read it? Tali had given her her permission; slowly she flicked it open and read through it. With every line she read, she felt the shock grow inside of her, shock and amazement at what her new family, especially Tali had been through.

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	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

14th March

Whilst at a gas station with her parents, NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and NCIS Special Agent Ziva David DiNozzo, 12 yeah old Talia Kaitlyn DiNozzo was brutally kidnapped. Using guns the criminals entered the shop whilst the girl and her mother were buying food, as mother and daughter tried to leave they attempted to shoot Agent Ziva DiNozzo. They were unsuccessful and in the fight that ensued Agent Ziva DiNozzo shot one of the kidnappers dead. After that the kidnappers managed to grab Tali DiNozzo and holding her at gunpoint to keep her parents at bay they managed to abduct her.

The girl described how the abductors took her to a warehouse by the docks and handed her to the man who had hired them to take her, a man by the name of Elead Dayan. Miss DiNozzo talked of how he told her he had taken her to get to her mother saying that she had killed his father after he had set a Hamas bomb that had killed her younger sister Talia David. Dayan held her for three days locked in a room before he contacted her mother, he taunted her before bringing her daughter out when Tali tried to warn her mother not to do as he said and come for her. Angry Dayan brought out a cattle prod and used it on her in front of her mother and father.

18th March

Dayan called Ziva DiNozzo again and told her that her daughter had been killed when she had tried to escape, however this was not the case and Tali DiNozzo was actually alive hiding. Dayan told Ziva that he had planted a bomb on a Naval war ship but he lied about the time before it was set to detonate hoping to kill her in the blast.

He and his men then fled and Talia fled too. She ran to the war ship where she was reunited with her family and she warned them of the bomb, they tried to stop it but were unsuccessful but survived. The family and the rest of the team were taken to hospital.

Hospital record of Talia DiNozzo

Admitted: 18th March – kidnap victim and blast survivor

The patient has suffered severe physical trauma mainly to her back. The patient had as it was found been tortured with a cattle prod resulting in first degree burns across her back and chest. On top of that the patient sustained many typical blast injuries; she had small abdominal haemorrhages and many small penetrating ballistic fragmentations which were all sorted out without any complications. She and the rest of those present at the blast all sustained flash burns and a few fractured bones, however during the explosion Miss DiNozzo had a wooden beam fall on top of her earning her many broken ribs and a concussion from where she hit her head on the floor. The patient is to be kept in care at least overnight for full examination again the next day.

19th March

Patient examined this morning and pronounced fit to go home though instructed to stay off school for a week and to rest.

9th June – Case Report

Yesterday Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Agent Ziva David DiNozzo and their 12 year old daughter Talia DiNozzo were abducted. Talia DiNozzo was abducted from her school and when they arrived to pick her up and learned of her disappearance, once again taken by Elead Dayan her parents drove to the original hostage site where when their daughter's life was threatened they surrendered to Dayan and he took them too.

He beat Ziva David up before taking her to her husband and daughter telling her that he would kill her daughter so that she would feel the pain he had felt when she had killed his father.

This morning Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs became concerned when his two agents didn't show up for work and had Agent Timothy McGee trace their phones, upon discovering the location they headed over before pronouncing the whole family missing.

10th June

Agent Gibbs received a call from Dayan challenging him to try and find his missing agents and their daughter, to encourage agent Gibbs and to hurt Ziva, he brought out a whip and laid open Tali's back as Agent Gibbs was forced to watch.

11th June

Agent Gibbs received more proof of life where he found Anthony DiNozzo relatively unharmed, Ziva DiNozzo beaten badly but hanging on and Talia DiNozzo bleeding out slowly but managing to stay strong.

12th June

NCIS Forensic Scientist Abby Scuito informed agent Gibbs that she had matched tyre treads from the crime scene to a specific car and managed to find the owner of the car at the crime scene; it belonged to a known terrorist Levi Kedar. Agent McGee managed to hack into the tracking system in the car and found that they were parked outside a warehouse district in Alexandria.

Agents Gibbs and McGee headed down there whilst Abby Scuito located the warehouse looking at the footage they had received and discovered that the family were being held in a warehouse once owned by Global Foods. Agents Gibbs and McGee arrived shortly before noon when they heard a gunshot and screaming, they didn't wait for backup and headed straight in where they found the two agents being held at the back of the room surrounded by guards and Tali DiNozzo lying on the floor held at gunpoint holding a gun herself. Agent Gibbs shot Dayan but Levi Kedar open fired at them, Agent McGee shot him twice.

During the open fire Agent DiNozzo was shot in the side, Ziva DiNozzo in the leg and Tali DiNozzo in the chest before she managed to deliver the kill shot to save her family, this was classed as self defence. The whole family was rushed to hospital where Tali DiNozzo was operated on for many hours before being placed into intensive care unit in a medically induced coma after the bullet pierced her lung and she struggled to breathe on her own.

She remained in ICU for three days before she managed to breathe again. She was released from hospital two weeks later.

Hospital Record of Talia DiNozzo

Admitted 16th June – Gun shot victim

The patient received a bullet to the lung causing her lung to collapse but once we removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding in her back we were able to place her in a medically induced coma to try and give her body time to heal. Though some of the marks will fade most of the whip marks will fade.

Case Report -10th September

NCIS Ziva David DiNozzo received a phone call from a Mossad agent known as Malachi Ben Gidon; she met with him when threatened where he told her that he was here for her daughter and that her father Deputy Director of Mossad Eli David wanted to take her as he had sworn to his daughter when she had first become pregnant. Ziva DiNozzo refused to hand her daughter over and left.

11th September

Ziva DiNozzo received a second phone call from Malachi, threatening her and demanding her daughter, again she refused so Malachi crashed a car into theirs and took the girl whilst her parents were unable to protect her. He flew her straight to Israel and handed her over to Director David who immediately began to brutally train her telling her she was not going home until she had done as she was told. He taught her to fight and to win before dumping her in the woods with 15 armed Mossad agents and told her to run from them. Talia DiNozzo fought them and lasted a day and a half before emerging.

14th September

Talia DiNozzo was sent into a mission to spy on the son of a suspected terrorist Elijah Kedar, brother of Levi Kedar. DiNozzo became friendly with 15 year old Amir Kedar whilst pretending to be 14 year old Myka Abrams.

16th September

Tali DiNozzo was invited back to Kedar's house where she managed to plant a bug in the study. Elijah Kedar came home early and invited her to stay for dinner after which he called her bluff, recognising her as the girl who killed his brother. He knocked her out and flew her back to DC with his son where he tied her up in a hotel room whilst he planted a bomb in the white house. Tali DiNozzo managed to grab his phone and send a warning to her parents and the rest of their team which they deciphered and sent the bomb squad to disable it.

18th September

Angry that she had stopped him Kedar took Miss DiNozzo and his son Amir to plant another bomb at the white house where he was apprehended by Agent Gibbs' team, he fled and brought out the girl holding a gun to her head. He then called out his son Amir who was holding the trigger to the bomb, he told his son to trigger the blast but Tali DiNozzo managed to convince him otherwise and he stood up to his father telling him he wanted no part in his life.

Furious Kedar shot his son in the chest and tried to do it again, that was when Tali DiNozzo acted. As he tried to shoot his son again she grabbed the gun and when she couldn't pull the gun away she turned it on herself, pressed it against her stomach and pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through her and into Kedar and he was forced to release her, this gave the agents the clean shot they needed and they killed Kedar.

Both teenagers were rushed to hospital and into surgery. After hours of operation they were both taken into care for a few days before being released, both are still monitored, but both are recovering. Slowly.

XOXO

Blair frowned before closing the file, bowing her head the feeling of guilt washed over her. Sure she hadn't known all this when the fight had broken out, but still, she felt bad.

Getting up, she headed back up the stairs to the bullpen, where she expected Tali to be.

Entering the bullpen, she glanced around - not seeing Tali. Storming through, she threw a quick glare McGee's way before looking over at where Ziva and Tony stood. "Where's Tali?" She asked, holding back from snapping at them. "Why?" Ziva questioned, concerned. Blair let out a small laugh before replying, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt your princess. You don't need to worry bout her." She saw Gibbs look up at of the corner of her eye, she was about to continue on her mission to find her herself before Tim spoke, "Blair..." He said it in a warningly tone. It annoyed her, but she refused to turn and look at him so she fixated her glare on Tony who finally sighed and gave in, "she went to the vending machine." She nodded at him, and then hurried out of the bullpen at the same pace she'd entered. "Is it just me, or do you think we'll be getting the third Hunger Games movie in advance?" she heard Tony mutter as she left.

XO

Tali headed slowly back up to the bullpen and when she slowly entered everyone looked at her "and" her father asked gently "how'd it go". She smiled softly looking around "well she took the file" they all looked at her trying to read her but as always she effortlessly hid her emotions. "Are you sure you want her to know" Gibbs asked gently and she looked at them all sombrely "I think she needs to know" she said softly. They all nodded uncertainly at her and she looked around before realising that the suspense of waiting for Blair to read the file was killing her and she sighed.

"I think I will go get some food" she said and leaned on her dad's desk eyeing him hopefully. He groaned and handed her some dollar bills "thanks" she chimed making everyone laugh as she skipped off to the vending machines where she slowly slotted the money in and selected her chocolate bar happily. She leaned against the counter slowly eating the chocolate before watching people walk by. They all stared at her shocked at the sighed of the bruises and scratches, but she ignored them; after all they should be used to it by now; she came in covered in marks regularly enough, she was used to it so, so should they.

She finished that bar of chocolate before she moved slowly back pulling out the other dollar bill she had sweet talked from her father and stood trying to decide what to get this time.

"Is it true" came a voice from behind, Tali paused before she slotted the money slowly into the machine and pressed the buttons allowing another bar of chocolate to fall down "you are a fast reader" she commented. "Is it true" Blair asked again "all of it, have you really been through all this".

Tali turned slowly to find Blair looking at her. She looked slightly angry but also shocked as she stood there holding the file. Slowly Tali nodded "yes" she said "I did really go through all that". She bent to pull her chocolate bar out of the vending machine before she turned and walked away beckoning to Blair and sensed her following. She headed to the lift at the back of the building and headed in and once the doors had shut she flipped the emergency stop switch looking at Blair who stood looking at her, then she turned around and began to unbutton her shirt.

She took a deep breath before she allowed the shirt to drop from her shoulders and fall away. She felt a shudder ripple through her body as she stood there exposing her bare back to Blair feeling her eyes travel over her back taking in all the marks; the small angry looking ones, the thin harsh ones and the huge long ropy one that stretched from her right shoulder to her left hip across her back, marking her back, dividing it with the huge ridge.

Blair didn't speak, and Tali stood there for a minute before she turned allowing Blair to see the two bullet wounds; one on her chest near her heart and one on her stomach.

She looked at Blair "now you know the truth" she said softly "and hopefully you will judge me correctly now". Slowly she shrugged into her shirt again buttoning it up again before looking up at Blair who was still looking at her. She reached back into her pocket and pulled out the bar of chocolate opening it and splitting it in half, slowly she held out half to Blair. "This team has been through a lot" she said "yes I was at the centre of it but no I didn't cause it, I hope that by seeing my scars you understand why we are secretive about it; it hurts, especially my mother because the first time I was taken it was to get to her and the second time… it was by her father, I know she blames herself for my kidnappings and so does my dad; he thinks that as my dad, he should be there to protect me constantly but he doesn't realise that the world is a dangerous place and he can't protect me from it all try as he might"

She looked down sighing before looking back up at Blair and stretched out her hand with the chocolate again "trust is the building blocks of teamwork" she said "I trust you not to stab me in the back… I hope now you trust me not to try and take your dad away from you because that is the last thing I want to do, I love McGee but he is like an uncle to me, an uncle who I love and never want to see hurt"

Blair looked at her before she slowly reached out and took the chocolate. For the briefest of moments their hands touched for the first time when not fighting each other and they both looked at each other. Their eyes met and they held each other's gaze for a minute before they both nodded to each other, a gesture of peace, it might not be friendship, but it was certainly a start.

XO

Considering Tali had thought Blair had forgiven her, she was genuinely surprised when they made it back to the bullpen, where Blair started taking her anger out on McGee.

Blair hadn't said anything on the way back from the elevator and it was hard to tell what she was feeling, or thinking. As they came into view of their parents, they saw them look over; to check they were still both in one piece. At the sign of both girls looking rather happy with themselves, each of the team members smiled slightly, glad to see Tali's idea of evening up the playing field had worked. Until Blair rushed up to McGee's desk. He looked up with a genuine look of surprise as she stormed up to him and slapped the file containing Tali's background in it in front of him. He looked up at her, and she glared at him, "So. Were you ever planning on telling me about all this?" He looked away from her piercing glance before replying, "That happened before you came here, you didn't need to here about all that. It was a complicated matter." Her withering glare got even stronger, if that were possible. "Complicated matter my ass. After 10 minutes of reading, I understand what happened. How do you explain that?" She asked, her voice getting dangerously near a yell. "Blair, please, can we talk about this later." He said warningly. "Oh please. You won't talk about it later. You're just saying that to get me to shut up." He sighed before speaking, "We'll talk about this at home. Okay?" Blair looked at him with a hurt look in her eyes. "Home's a joke."

McGee didn't get a reply out fast enough as she turned and hurried towards the elevator where she slammed her hand into the button and hurried in when the doors open. He watched her until the doors slid closed, then he dropped his gaze down to his keyboard, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

Everyone remained quiet unsure of what to do until Gibbs' phone rang and he answered it and took down what he was told before hanging up. "Grab your gear" he said "we got a dead marine in a bank downtown" they all stood up but McGee was rather hesitant looking in the direction after Blair.

Tali moved towards him "don't worry about Blair" she said softly "I'll find her and speak to her". Gratefully he nodded to her before he took off after the rest of the team leaving Tali to locate Blair.

XO

As soon as she was in the elevator Blair choked back a sob. She couldn't let go here. Who knew who'd be on the other side of the door. So hitting one of the floor numbers she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to breathe steadily.

As the doors opened with a quiet ding, she hurried out and down the hall. She tried a few doors before finding one that was unlocked. Shutting the door behind her, she glanced around the small supply closet she had chosen for her hiding place, it was full of boxes, nothing interesting really.

She lowered herself to the ground breathing heavily still choking back sobs, she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them breathing deeply as thoughts whirled around her head making it difficult to focus, why was everything so confusing?

She didn't know how long she sat there trying to sort out her thoughts before there was a knock at the door to the closet making her jump. She looked up confused before the door opened and Tali stuck her head round smiling at her. "Hey" she said "you ok", Blair stared at her "how did you know I was in here" she asked, Tali grinned as she slipped in "well I grew up here and there were times when I wanted peace and quiet where I couldn't be disturbed so I went and checked all my old hiding spots, this one was my favourite though, I hardly ever got disturbed here"

Blair smiled weakly, Tali looked at her "can I join you" she asked, slowly Blair nodded and Tali shut the door and moved to the back next to her and slid down the wall so they sat side by side in the closet.

For a few minutes they sat in silence before Tali looked at Blair "sooo do you want to talk about it" "talk about what" Blair mumbled "what happened in the bullpen" Tali prompted "you blew a gasket at your dad" "oh that" Blair mumbled "no I don't want to talk about it". "Alrighty then" Tali said and settled back down and they lapsed back into silence.

"I don't know who to trust" Blair mumbled and Tali looked at her "what do you mean" she asked "everyone was keeping things from me, I mean at first I didn't even know your mom and dad were married let alone had two kids until they came in one day with Aiden cus the day care had a flu going round, that was when I finally found out about you, I guess it was a shock and I was confused that they had kept it from me"

"They don't tell many people" Tali said "I mean they aren't meant to be working together as they are married but Vance let them and after everything we have been through I think they feel that it isn't something they want to share until they truly trust that person for fear of us getting hurt". Blair looked at her "but I was confused" she said "I finally found my dad and got welcomed into this family before finding out that they hadn't been entirely truthful with me and it hurt"

Tali looked at her "they didn't do it to hurt you" she said softly "they did it to protect me, don't be mad at them if you have to be mad at someone be mad at me". Blair gave her a look "we just stopped being mad at each other and now you are trying to get me to be mad at you again… your mind works in weird ways DiNozzo". Tali smiled "well if it will help you patch things up with your dad then I can take it, I don't want you to loose your dad so soon after you found him"

Blair looked at her and gave her a smile and Tali smiled back before they both lapsed back into silence mulling things over.

They both jumped as the door swung open and Palmer appeared obviously fetching more supplies for Ducky. He let out a yelp when he spotted the two of them sitting on the floor and leapt backwards.

"What on earth is wrong Mr Palmer did you find the skeletons in the closet" Ducky asked as he obliviously moved past chuckling at his little joke. "Close enough" Palmer mumbled still staring at Tali and Blair as Ducky peered in "ah" he said when he spotted them "what are you two doing in the store cupboard"

"Just sorting things out" Tali said with an innocent smile "ah yes well I heard about your fight yesterday" Ducky said giving them a look over the top of his glasses "does that mean you two have sorted yourselves out". Both of them nodded "no more fighting Ducky" Blair promised with a smile "good" the elderly medical examiner said "now clear out of our store cupboard before you give Mr Palmer another heart attack" smiling they both leapt up and slipped out "lets go see Abby" Tali said and Blair nodded and the two of them took off towards the lab.

Palmer looked at Ducky who was smiling after them "remind you of something Doctor" he asked. Ducky nodded "Tali's mother and Miss Scutio" he said causing Palmer to frown "oh they hated each other when they first met" Ducky said "now look at them, closer than sisters". Palmer nodded as he moved into the now thankfully vacant closet and picked up the instruments he was looking for and followed Ducky back down to the coroners office

XOXO

Tali looked at Blair as she sat in Abby's lab not talking to her; she sat on the chair staring out of the window. She had been there for some time now obviously thinking things over. She looked at Abby who shrugged not knowing how to respond to the grumpy girl, Tali shrugged back, slowly Abby edged towards her; "Um Blair are you ok" she asked, Blair didn't look at them but she nodded "yeah just trying to mull things over I mean it was slightly hard to hear the truth, know what you all have been hiding". Abby and Tali looked at each other uncertainly "I understand why you did it" Blair continued "I am just not sure about what to do about it"

"You don't have to take it out on Tim" Abby said gently, Blair finally looked over and her eyes were confused as she looked at them before looking away. Tali sighed again and moved away and Abby followed and the two of them began to inventory Abby's chemicals slowly, thinking carefully.

After a while Tony came down with two boxes "got evidence for you Abs" he said quietly. "Thanks" Abby said as he set it on the desk "what case is this" "marine got shot in a hostage situation at a bank" Tony said "he tried to protect the civilians, died in the progress, the bank security guard got shot too as they entered, they killed him to make sure everyone knew they meant business". Abby sighed ducking her head and signed the chain of evidence sheet before opening the boxes. "Blair, Tali come on, lets leave Abby be" Tony said and both girls leapt up following him into the elevator. "Let me guess" Tali said looking up at her father "this doesn't look like their first bank robbery" he looked at her shaking his head "no professional hit, they used semi automatic shotguns and took out all cameras inside the bank"

Tali frowned as they arrived on their floor and headed into the bullpen. Blair went straight to her favourite seat and settled down and Tali slipped towards her dad's desk as he joined the others standing in the middle in front of their screen watching what little video they had, as she passed though she glanced at it and froze staring at the masked men who entered, instantly swinging their guns up to take out the cameras.

"Well we aren't going to get much from that" Ziva said with a sigh "you barely get a look at the masks, McGee can you enhance it" "I can try" he said trimming the image and beginning to scrub it.

Tali moved over to her dad's desk and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen instantly beginning to sketch, Tony and Ziva looked at her confused before looking at each other and shrugging, even Gibbs looked at her curiously until she dropped the pen and held out the pad. Tony took it and looked at the sketches of masks she had drawn, just as McGee finished cleaning one up and they all stared at the image on the screen, near identical to Tali's drawing.

They all looked at Tali then back at her drawing, then to the image on the screen then back to Tali. "How…" Tony managed staring at her, she looked at them all before looking at the time; 5pm. "Gibbs can we go to MTAC" she asked turning but Gibbs caught hold of her arm "whoa Tali, what is going on, how did you know what the masks looked like" "I've seen it before" she said quietly "come on MTAC" and with that she headed up the stairs.

Everyone looked at each other before they followed her up the stairs, she was waiting outside MTAC speaking urgently on the phone to someone before she ended the call and stepped back allowing Gibbs to take the retina scan and allow them in. Tony looked over his shoulder as they entered to see Blair following them in looking around interested as they headed in. He looked back at Tali to find her sitting at the computers typing, she logged into Skype and clicked on a name before gesturing to McGee to sit down "bring up what you have" she said and stepping into the middle of the room as her call was accepted and the face of a teenage girl appeared on the screen.

"**Tali" **she greeted **"hey you ok, what's going on"**

"_Hey Livie" _Tali responded "_I'm fine but this is important, is your mom there" _

Livie looked at her friend confused before she turned and hollered to her mom and they heard her shout back. **"She'll be here in a sec" **Livie said looking back at the screen **"hi guys, hey Tony, hey Ziva" **the agents all greeted the girl back. _"Oh and this is Blair" _Tali said gesturing to the girl.

"**Hey" **Livie said **"McGee's daughter right" **Blair nodded _"my reputation proceeds me" _she said uncertainly **"yeah well kinda hard to miss the huge shining bruise on Tali's face" **Livie said **"nice shot by the way I have never been able to land one on her" **

A flicker of a smile slipped onto Blair's face _"thanks, but we put that behind us now". "We evened up the playing field" _Tali added and Livie smiled just as her mom entered the room and she stood up to let her mother take the seat.

Katherine Beckett Castle eyed the assembled people cautiously before her eyes fell on Tali **"hello Tali how are you"** she asked a small smile slipping onto her face. _"Hey Kate, I'm good thanks how are you" _Tali asked **"yeah not bad"** Kate said brushing her long hair out of her eyes **"anyway can I help you with something"**

"_Yes" _Tali said glancing around _"do you remember when I was over and you had that string of violent robberies". _Kate's face darkened **"I do" **she said _"are they still going on" _Tali asked, slowly Kate shook her head **"no they stopped a couple of weeks ago and the case went dry… Tali why are you asking about them" **she looked at the girl standing in front of her as she looked back at her _"because I think they have moved to DC" _Tali said.

Nobody spoke they just all remained calm, then Gibbs stepped forward and spoke to Kate _"can we show you the footage we have of a recent shooting and can you tell us if it matches any of the cases you had in New York" _he asked. Kate nodded and Gibbs motioned to McGee to play her the footage. Kate watched it and they all saw her face darken again. **"Yes"** she said **"that is them, those are the same masks they used in the cases we have here, and it is the same MO too"**

Gibbs looked at Tali giving her a quick nod "can you tell us everything you know about them" he asked. Kate nodded **"my files are at the precinct but I can tell you that we don't think that it was their first hit in New York either, it was too professional, they were very efficient, only twice were they held in the banks longer than intended when the police responded promptly, both times they managed to escape without any issue, they look at the buildings carefully before hand and everything is planned beautifully, none of the hostages can remember anything useful about them"**

She paused** "I can tell you though that they aren't finished"** she said quietly **"they hit another bank within three days of the first one, big ones, small ones, it doesn't matter, there is no way of predicting which bank they will hit next, over the two months they were here they hit nearly every bank in New York"**

Nobody spoke _"so we have three days"_ Tony said uncertainly. Kate nodded "**three days"** she confirmed **"and there is always a casualty, to show the hostages that they mean business"**, Gibbs sighed _"Detective Beckett, have you been to DC recently_". She smiled and shook her head **"not in a long time no" **Gibbs looked around _"would you like to bring your team up and help us with this case, I think it is about time these sons of bitches were stopped don't you agree" _Kate smiled nodding **"we would love to see these men get caught Agent Gibbs and it would be our pleasure to assist" **Gibbs smiled _"I will get our director to request your assistance from your captain then" _he said **"we'll have our bags packed ready" **Kate said.

Gibbs smiled _"oh and why don't you bring your daughters" _he said and both Tali and Livie beamed in delight _"after all there is no school for them to miss". _Kate smiled looking at Livie **"sounds good agent Gibbs" **she said **"we will see you shortly then" **Gibbs nodded and made the slashing motion and McGee ended the call.

Everyone remained quiet and looked at Gibbs who turned to Tali "good spot shortcake" he said softly before looking at everyone else. "Head home and get a good night's sleep" he said "I think we are all going to need it" they all nodded and he gave Tali a hug before heading over to Blair to give her a hug. "Try not to completely tear your father to shreds this evening ok" he murmured "I think we might need him on this case" Blair gave a small smile before she nodded "will try not to" she said softly. He nodded approvingly to her before he watched her follow McGee out of the room silently, still not talking to him.

He sighed looking back at the screen with the footage from the shooting, he had a gut feeling that this case wasn't going to end well, how could it? Someone was going to get hurt. He just hoped it was those who deserved to get hurt.

**Hope you enjoyed it. If there is anyway we could improve the writing of this story please let us know – we would love some advice.**

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**Thanks**


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

The whole way home Blair sat silently, looking either out the window or down at her cell phone which pinged every few minutes, signalling a new message. "Who are you texting?" McGee asked, trying to start up a conversation. "A friend." She said shortly. "What friend?" He tried. She rolled her eyes and dropped her phone into her lap, "Katie." She finally muttered, before going back to ignoring him. He sighed in defeat, and continued to drive home in silence.

As the two made their way into their small but homely two storied house. Blair went to move up the stairs to where her bedroom was but before she could McGee grabbed her wrist, "Really?" She asked, glaring at him. "Blair, don't start. We need to have a talk about your behaviour." She glanced away, a sudden feeling of uncertainly filling her thoughts. "Fine." She murmured, pulling away and moving past him into the kitchen where she got herself a glass of water. "So your behaviour recently. Has brought a few new things into the mix." He started and she looked at him with a confused look in her eyes, but through the confusion he saw the fear that she was hiding. "Yeah? Like what." She asked, putting on a brave face, he realised she was going to take this by trying to act tough. He knew his daughter was a great actor, a player of the emotions. She could twist them to the point where she came across as almost unemotional.

"Like the fact, the social worker on your… our case rang today, earlier." He told her, dropping his gaze to the floor. "And?" She questioned, but it came out in a barely audible whisper. "They want to place you in another home for a bit, see if it helps with your apparent anger issues." She let out a sob and the half empty glass dropped to the ground, shattering against the tiles. "When?" He gave a half shrug, "Miss McKinley said we had a few days, so soon, she said it would be for a minimum of 5 days, but she couldn't be sure." Blair nodded, looking at the ground. "Okay." She muttered, stepping round the broken glass and running up the stairs where he soon after heard the door slam.

It was the next morning when he next saw his daughter. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she'd attempted to hide the blotchiness and the rings under her eyes with make up to no avail. "What?" She snapped after catching him looking at her face. He shook his head and as he went to speak she cut him off, "Don't tell anyone at NCIS. Please? They don't need to know." He gave her a look, "Don't forget, you were the one upset about hearing the truth later then you wanted." She raised her eyebrows and shouldered her bag, "I can keep a secret. Obviously better then everyone else around here." She said before making her way out the door, letting it slam shut behind her.

10 minutes later McGee received a text from Tony telling him to hurry up and get to work and that Gibbs was on a warpath, then he got one merely seconds later from Blair saying she was with Missy and she would meet him at NCIS a bit later.

XO

When he arrived everyone was assembled in the bullpen waiting; Tali had a huge grin on her face and was almost bouncing with excitement at the prospect of seeing her friend again. When Blair arrived she didn't speak or even look at McGee, she just sat in her usual seat eying the crowd with a look that had been on her face when Tali had been about to arrive, she didn't want new people to arrive and take over her little family, but she remained quiet.

Then the doors opened and three people stepped out, Tali let out a squeak of excitement and leapt forward to exuberantly hug her friend who leapt excitedly towards her too. Laughing they collided hugging each other excitedly, before they moved into the bullpen with Livie's parents right behind her, all the introductions were made introducing Blair to Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett Castle before Gibbs took them up to the conference room calling "try not to kill each other girls" as he headed up causing Rick to look back at the three of them slightly worriedly.

Tali turned to find Livie and Blair eyeballing each other uncertainly, "Livie Blair, Blair Livie" she said "great now that's out the way" she looked at the two of them still eyeballing each other "um hellloooo" she called and they both looked at her "cool, right no more fighting remember Blair" Blair rolled her eyes before she looked back at Livie and nodded and Livie smiled gently as she returned the gesture.

Blair looked at Tali "well" she said "I'll let you two catch up" she said and moved over to McGee's desk settling herself down at his computer and beginning to use it. Tali looked at Livie and shrugged before she dragged two desk chairs out and they settled themselves down side by side.

"I can't believe Gibbs said I could come" Livie said with a grin "that's awesome" Tali grinned "yeah it is" she said "where's Alexis anyway" "aw she wanted to come but her friends invited her down for a week of hard partying in the Hamptons that was too hard to resist" Livie said, Tali laughed "I'll bet" she said grinning. "So do you really think that these criminals are the same as the ones in New York" Livie asked and Tali nodded sadly "shame I was hoping they wouldn't come to DC but I suppose it was inevitable" Livie nodded.

"So what you been up to" Tali asked "not much" Livie said "Skye went lame a few days ago so I haven't been able to ride her much which is a shame, especially considering it is the holidays". Over at McGee's desk Blair looked up "you have a horse" she said in surprise and they both looked up at her "um yeah" Livie said uncertainly "dappled grey mare called Skye" she looked at Blair "do you like horses" she asked.

Blair ducked her head before she nodded "um yeah there is this little mare at a rescue centre I have been working with, she is called Missy and I have been nursing her back to health since she arrived" Livie smiled "that's really cool" she said, and a flicker of a smile appeared on Blair's face as she nodded before turning back to the computer.

Livie smiled at Tali who leapt up "I fancy food" she said "want anything Blair" the older girl shook her head but stood anyway, "no thanks. I'm going to go down and see Abby" she said, Tali beckoned to Livie and the two of them headed towards the vending machine. "I see what you mean" Livie commented "she is very guarded isn't she" Tali nodded "she is just protective of what little she has" she said "after everything she has been through" Livie nodded as they each selected some candy and sat at a table "you have been through a lot too" Livie said "and that makes you protective and defensive too, it's no wonder the two of you had a lot of friction"

Tali smiled weakly, Livie knew all about her trauma and incidents just as she knew of Livie's incident; how she had been kidnapped and held for leverage, and when her mom had begged for proof of life, they had tortured her, sending a video of a burning hot pipe being pressed into her back and when they had released her they had shot and stabbed her as she had tried to protect her mom. Their haunting pasts was one of the things that had really drawn them to each other and one of the reasons they were so close, it was comforting to them to know that someone else their own age knew the pain they had gone through.

"So what do you think of her" Tali asked, Livie thought as she ate her chocolate "I think she seems ok" she said "not to keen on her hostility but I am sure when she settles into this life then she will loosen up a bit". "If she stays" Tali said causing Livie to look at her confused "McGee has filed for adoption but it has to go through first" Tali reminded her "do you want it to" Livie asked brushing her hair out of her face. Tali thought "I don't want her to loose her dad" she said "not after she has already lost so much, and I think that we could work this out and get closer once this initial period of friction is over, plus if we know she is staying for good we sort of don't have a choice" Livie smiled.

They headed slowly back to the bullpen where they found their parents assembled again discussing the case, slowly they slipped in and joined them until Tali noticed the time "ur mom" she said and Ziva looked up and her eyes widened as she too realised the time "ah I have to go get AJ" she said. "Don't worry I'll get him" Tali said "I'll go too" Livie said, Ziva smiled at them "toda tateleh" ("thank you sweetheart") she said "eyan davar" Tali responded ("no problem") and she headed towards the elevator with Livie right behind her.

They walked at a leisurely pace out of the navy yard discussing things as they walked the short walk to the day care centre. "So how's Amir" Livie asked as they approached the brightly coloured building "in Israel visiting his family, well his over protective aunt, says she is driving him crazy, doesn't want him to come back to America" Livie grinned "do you miss him" she asked. Tali looked at her before she smiled "I miss his stupid humour" she said "and his friendship… and him always being there for me" Livie gave her a look as they opened the door to the day care "Tali you are totally smitten with this boy" "am not" Tali protested "are too" Livie chided causing her to laugh as they headed over to the reception desk and Tali was greeted by the receptionist

"Who's this Tali" she asked "oh this is Livie my friend from New York" she said with a smile and the receptionist nodded "go on in and get your brother then Tali, from what I have heard he has been as good as gold" Tali grinned "that's good" she said "makes a change from at home" she added as she unlocked the gate into the play area and they headed in. Tali looking around until she spotted her brother playing with some other boys, "Aiden" she called and the little boy looked up and a huge beam split across his face "Tah lee" he squealed scrambling up and staggering over to her. Smiling Tali bent and lifted him up "hello little brother" she said "you ready to go back to NCIS" he nodded happily and smiling Tali grabbed his little bag and carried him to where Livie was waiting

"Wow he has grown" Livie said as she let Tali out shutting the gate behind her. Tali grinned "yes you have haven't you" she cooed to AJ who giggled happily waving at Livie who smiled at the innocent little boy with his big brown eyes and deep brown curls, he was pretty adorable.

They headed back to NCIS chatting away to each other and back into the building and up to the bullpen. In the elevator Tali set AJ down and bent next to him, as the doors opened she whispered "go see mommy and daddy then" and instantly the tiny boy staggered into the bullpen calling "mommy" and as they followed him they saw Ziva turn and bend scooping her little boy up with a smile speaking to him briefly before handing him to Tony who grinned tossing him up in the air making him giggle.

Tali and Livie stepped into the bullpen too before they both stopped when they saw the extra company they had; two more men were standing there wearing suits and solemn expressions. "Uh oh" Tali said "the FBI are here" she moved into the bullpen "hi Agent Fornell" she said "hello young miss DiNozzo" Fornell said "who's your friend"

"Livie Castle" Tali said "Castle huh" he said looking at Kate and Rick "is the FBI the only place which keeps up the strict no dating co-workers policy". There was a snort from behind him "what am I invisible?" Livie and Tali both peered round the FBI agents to see another girl sitting next to Blair. She appeared to be around the same age as Blair with warm brown eyes and long auburn hair that hung straight to the small of her back. She was skinny but very strong looking and had a defensive posture to her but still managed to convey a feeling of authority and calmness about herself; she cocked her head to the side looking at Tali and Livie curiously.

"Oh yes how can we forget you" Fornell said "technically though your mother doesn't work in the FBI" the girl shrugged "technicality, they still work together" she said and Fornell rolled his eyes.

Tali looked around before she mouthed "who's that" to her family, Gibbs came to her rescue. "Tali, Livie, this is Special Agent Seeley Booth and his daughter April Booth", the girl April looked at them "this is Talia DiNozzo and Olivia Castle" Gibbs introduced.

Slowly the four girls eyed each other before April smiled "hi" she said "nice to meet you". Slowly Livie and Tali smiled back at her and the tension in the room lessened dramatically.

"So in a non rude way" Tali said looking at Gibbs "why are they here" he smiled "because young Miss Booth over there was with her father looking at all the cases and noticed some similarities between some cases of his and our cases and brought them to our attention which is a good thing since it tells us how long these people have been going"

"How long is that" Tali asked "well lets just say longer than you have been alive" Booth said and Tali and Livie's eyes widened "ouch" Livie said "that means their death toll must be huge" everyone nodded darkly

"So what happens now" Tali asked "that is what we are trying to figure out" Gibbs muttered darkly and all the girls looked at the adults all standing there trying to convey a sense of power and authority over the others. For a few minutes there was silence before April stood up "well this is slightly awkward" she said "and I'll break the tension with a very reasonable suggestion", everyone looked at her and she gave them a look that plainly said 'duh'

When that got nothing she sighed "teamwork" she tried "all work together". Instantly everyone pulled a face "oh come on guys" she said "I know you all have this thing about working with other teams, but really are you that different" she looked at them all "I mean you all want the same thing right? These guys caught, you are happy to give each other your notes and stuff so why not share your resources and work together, put your minds together to catch them"

Everyone eyed each other "that isn't a bad idea" Tali said and everyone's heads swivelled to look at her "come on its worth a shot" she said "you said yourselves that these guys have been out for too long so why not all work together to catch them"

"They do have a point" Kate said looking around uncertainly "I suppose we could" Booth said cautiously looking at Gibbs who looked at his team and then at Tali before he sighed "I think we could work together for a bit" he said and everyone smiled except Fornell who looked slightly stunned. "Did a group of teenagers just manage to persuade three separate law enforcement teams to work together willingly, wow" he looked around "that is very interesting as it usually looks like we are trying to pull teeth out if we have to work together" they all smiled weakly. "Well Booth I'll leave you to it then" Fornell said "Gibbs try to be nice" Tali laughed loudly before receiving a gentle slap over the back of the head and she laughed again as she danced out of reach.

Booth looked around at the agents assembled around him trying to decide whether he had made the right choice agreeing to work with them. He had heard a lot about Agent Gibbs and his team from Fornell. Gibbs was described as strong, silent and with a no nonsense attitude to him; he was the best agent at NCIS. Tough and willing to do whatever was necessary to get his bad guy. But having watched him with the two girls - Blair and Tali – Booth could see that there was a softer side to him. Agent Tim McGee he had heard was a technology genius, hard working and dedicated. He had only just met his daughter Blair and it appeared that the two of them were still struggling to find their rhythm.

Then there was Agent Ziva David, ex Mossad, flawless fighter and a keen eyed investigator. Mother of the other girl Tali DiNozzo. Booth had heard about how Ziva and Agent Tony DiNozzo had broken Gibbs rule of never dating a co worker after Ziva had fallen pregnant after an undercover mission. They had gotten married and raised their daughter together at NCIS. Fornell had said Gibbs adored Tali, that she was one of the few people that could make him smile; apparently she was a lot like her father. Agent Tony DiNozzo, Fornell had said, was a prankster; he loved to play pranks on anyone and everyone. He was a wiseass, cheeky and loved movies and very often quoted them. But he was an excellent investigator and good at his job, always serious at the appropriate moment.

Fornell had said they were a very odd team, a dysfunctional family really but when it came to working with them, you couldn't ask for a better team.

Next he looked over at Detective Kate Beckett where she stood talking to Ziva smiling at the baby in the Israeli's arms. He didn't know much about her, just that she was strong, fearless and determined. Married to the crime novelist Richard Castle whom she had met when he followed her for research. He knew that her daughter Livie was only Castle's stepdaughter, Kate had raised her alone since she was 18.

He knew she had been chasing these robbers in New York and had come closer than anyone else to catching them. She and her crazy writer follower/ husband made a brilliant team and had the highest case closure rate at their precinct.

Booth looked at them all as they finished readying themselves. His new team. As they all looked at him and as they did so he felt a sense of determination and deep down he knew that this team of mismatched agencies were his best chance of finding these men. And looking at them he realised that this was the team that he was glad to have.

XO

It was just as everyone was packing up to leave NCIS to move over to the Jeffersonian where they had chosen to have their head quarters for the investigation. When a young red headed woman stepped out of the elevator and made her way over to the now staring group of agents. "Is there a Timothy McGee here?" She asked and everyone turned to face McGee, who nodded. "Yeah. You must be Miss McKinley?" She gave a brief smile before the two moved over into a more private area.

As the two talked, in low voices, all the NCIS agents noticed Blair looking over at them, a dazed look in her eyes. They didn't have time to ask who Miss McKinley was, and what she was here about as the conversation quickly drew to a close and they re-joined the group. The woman Mrs McKinley smiled and nodded to everyone, then she gave Blair an almost meaningful look before she thanked McGee for his time and stepped back into the elevator and the doors closed behind her.

Everyone looked at McGee who glanced at Blair who kept her eyes firmly on her scuffed trainers refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "Something wrong McGee" Gibbs asked and McGee looked at his boss before he glanced at Blair again to find her glaring pointedly at him. "No" he said "everything is fine boss"

Gibbs looked between him and Blair before he slowly nodded "come on then" he said "lets go". Everyone nodded.

XO

April wondered along the top platform of the Jeffersonion anthropology area humming quietly to herself as she thought about their new situation. This was an interesting development indeed she thought, she hadn't been expecting this when she had gone to see her dad at the FBI and found him pouring over some new cases, bank robberies. She had seen the connection instantly, remembering some cases from a couple of months back in New York and then further back in Florida, she was good at finding connections and she had found that one instantly. She had told her father who had stared at her before instantly leaping up and going to the records room to retrieve those files. He too had seen the connection and then it had clicked, they had both realised that these bank robberies had been going on for a long time, long before Florida.

Her dad had gone to his boss and explained what they had found. His boss hadn't been happy to learn that there were serial bank robbers active in DC, especially when he had learned that their latest robbery had involved the death of a navy officer. He had called in one of his senior agents, Tobias Fornell and had told them to go to NCIS and explain their predicament; Intrigued and without a ride April had decided to tag along too.

When they had arrived they had learned that NCIS had already discovered the connection and had called in the investigating detective from New York, a Detective Katherine Beckett Castle. They had told NCIS what they had discovered about the robbers, how they had been active in nearly every state for over 20 years.

Everyone had been shocked and had all decided that they wanted to catch them before anyone else got hurt, and so their new task force had been formed, bringing together three teams and their daughters.

April sighed and looked over the rail where they were all setting up in Angela's office preparing themselves for intense sessions of staring at evidence and facts hoping that something would stand out. She could see two of the girls, Livie and Tali sitting on the steps to the platform chatting. She knew that they had known each other before this had started, that Tali had connected the dots for NCIS recognising the robbers as the ones that had been active in New York when she had gone to visit her friend. April had a feeling this case was going to be difficult, she just also hoped that with all the extra manpower they would be able to succeed.

She wondered further along the viewing platform until she came to the seating area where she spotted the other NCIS girl, Blair, sitting watching everyone move around. April watched her before she moved forward. "Hey" she said and instantly Blair looked up checking her out as a possible threat "can I join you" April asked and Blair considered her before she slowly nodded and April sat down next to her.

For a few minutes there was silence before Blair tentatively asked "have you grown up here" she asked. April grinned and nodded "yup been coming here almost every day since I was a baby, this is my second home". Blair smiled weakly, she didn't look to happy about the idea of having more than one home.

"You're McGee's daughter right" April asked and Blair nodded "that must make you and Tali pretty close" April said grinning at her. To her surprise Blair snorted "nope not at all, we have only just gotten over hating each other". April raised her eyebrows at her "haven't you known her like your whole life" she asked, Blair shook her head "nope only met her a couple of weeks ago", April frowned confused.

Blair sighed before she looked at her "I'm a foster kid" she said "I have been in the foster system for most of my life, until I ran away to find my dad and I did, and I am staying with him at the moment, hopefully it will be more permanent soon but you never know with foster homes, sometimes they don't want you to be happy it feels". April gave a smile "would you believe me if I said I know how you feel" she asked "nope" Blair said bluntly.

"Well I do" April said "I was in the foster system for a bit too". Slowly Blair looked at her "really" she said and her voice made it clear that she didn't believe her, April nodded still smiling encouragingly "my parents got in a spot of trouble about a year ago and they were forced to flee, and they had to leave me, so that the men couldn't find me, the system got wind of me and took me in refusing to let me stay with Angela, cus she was a single woman with long working hours".

Blair looked at her curiously as April continued "I know how you feel, how those homes make you feel, how they… put your clothes in garbage bags, like they are saying you are garbage… how they take you away from everything you know and put you in a routine that is mechanical, that you feel you cannot escape from, until a family comes along and then there are so many kids they are trying to find homes for they are desperate to get you out, they don't do their checks properly and the next thing you know you are locked in a little room being beaten with no means of escape".

She looked at Blair who looked at her "trust me I know how you feel" she said "I was taken away from everyone I loved" Blair ducked her head looking away before she mumbled "I was placed in foster care when I was eight after my mom died, she overdosed" "sorry" April said softly, Blair didn't look at her. "I was so confused when I arrived and tried to stay who I was, but it made me not fit in, so my control officer took me into her office one day and she told me to give up on my old life because I wasn't getting it back, if I wanted to survive in this place I would have to change and I guess I did"

She slowly looked at April "I went to 16 homes in 7 years" she said softly "some of them I was there for only a matter of weeks, I hated most of them, they tried to mould me into their perfect child, and when you don't fit they try to use brute force, then they send you back" "it makes you feel like damaged goods" April said softly and Blair nodded "I guess I am just not that malleable" she said softly "years of living with a mom who was high kinda makes you stronger" April smiled.

Blair looked away "I wasn't like this when I was little" she said softly "I wasn't harsh and untrusting, the foster centre did that to me, they changed me, now I don't know who to trust, I had almost given up before I found my dad, I didn't expect him to take me in, I just wanted to meet him and then he took me in, everyone at NCIS did, and for the first time since before my mom got into drugs, I felt like I had a family"

April smiled "why don't you like Tali then" she asked, Blair smiled and they looked down to where Tali was sitting with Livie "she was visiting Livie in New York when I arrived and I had been there for three weeks before she returned, I guess I didn't want to suddenly share this family with her, neither of us liked each other when we first arrived, we actually despised each other, but after a brutal fight we made our peace, we can tolerate each other now" April grinned.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes listening to everyone moving about below them until they heard footsteps and they turned to see a small girl with auburn hair making her way towards them. April smiled "hey there monkey" she said opening her arms and the little girl giggled and ran forward falling onto her lap, April grinned and stroked her hair "Libby this is Blair my friend, Blair this is my little sister Libby"

Slowly Libby looked at Blair curiously "hello" she said shyly. Blair gave a small smile "hello Libby" she said and Libby smiled as she hoisted herself onto April's lap and April relinquished her phone to her to keep her busy.

"Libby is a foster kid too" April said and Blair looked at her surprised "really" April nodded "her mom was a drug addict like yours and also a drunk, she hit Libby a lot, so the foster system took her away, but it was too late, she was already traumatised, she was terrified of people and couldn't be homed, she was there when I arrived and I sorta fell in love with her and looked after her, and then when I got my life back again I took my parents to meet her and they fell in love with her too and she liked them as well so they adopted her, didn't we honey". Libby grinned "I get to stay with you forever" she exclaimed spreading her arms wide narrowly avoiding hitting April in the face making everyone laugh.

"So this is where everyone is hiding". They all looked up to see Livie and Tali walking down the gangway with AJ toddling in between them. "Yep great place to hang" April said cheerfully bending over "hey little guy" she cooed to AJ making him giggle as he waved, then he spotted Blair and grinned "Blar" he shouted and Blair smiled "hey AJ" she said. Grinning happily he toddled over to her as Tali and Livie sat down on the other sofa. AJ grabbed hold of Blair's sleeve giggling before he staggered back over to his sister who lifted him up and placed him on her lap.

"So you two seem to have bonded" Tali said looking at Blair and April "well transpires we have a lot in common" April said with a smile and Blair smiled weakly. They all sat there looking at each other before Tali asked April "so do you spend a lot of time here", April looked up at her and grinned "yeah I do, this place is like my second home, I am here all the time, I get to help out here too, I help my mom with the bones and Hodgins with his weird experiments". "Sounds fun" Tali said "I do too, I get to help our forensic scientist Abby, she is really cool" April grinned "do you help Abby out too Blair" she asked. Blair shrugged "sometimes" she said with a smile "she lets me use her mass spectrometer" "wow" April said "Hodgins rarely lets me use that, it is like his baby" "ha it's Abby's baby too" Tali said and they laughed.

Eventually they headed down to where their parents had set themselves up in Angela's office where they found all the information about each of the robberies plastered across whiteboards. "wow glad to see you packed your murder boards mom" Livie commented causing her mom to scowl at her and stick her tongue out whilst Rick sniggered.

Then the girls all looked at Angela's screen where they saw a map with little dots that spanned across the entire US. "Wow" Tali and Livie said together, curiously April stepped forward eyeing the map "where was their first robbery" she asked "that we know of" McGee said pointing "Seattle". "Huh" April said "long way from home" everyone nodded "we are assuming that if that is the first robbery that our robbers grew up there so we have asked for all police records from Seattle to get a potential suspect list" Booth explained. Tali looked at the map "why hasn't anyone connected the robberies until now" she asked "I mean have they always worn those masks"

Gibbs shook his head "no they change after a couple of states unfortunately so no one connected them, if April hadn't noticed the connection of similarities we may never have connected them, we have made positive links now, the bullets don't match in every state but they do match in some so when we catch these guys we will have a pretty strong case". Everyone noticed his use of the word 'when', failure clearly wasn't an option here.

They worked until everyone was exhausted and AJ and Libby were whining; wanting to get to sleep so they decided to call it a night and they all headed home biding each other goodnight and clambering into their respective cars.

Tali was silent on the drive home staring out the window and when they arrived at the apartment building she slid out slowly and almost dreamily walked round the car. Ziva watched her as she lifted her son out of his car seat "are you ok aheva" she asked gently. Tali looked at her blankly before registering what she had said and she smiled nodding "just thinking" she said "what about" Tony asked as they headed towards the elevator "how alike us four are" Tali said "Livie, April, Blair and I, how well we bonded, like there is some sort of underlying issue we all have that makes us feel safe around each other"

Ziva looked at her "maybe there is" she said "you all have crime fighters for parents" Tali grinned "that's true" she said with a smile as they arrived at their apartment and her dad unlocked the front door. "So what's on the movie agenda tonight" she asked her dad eagerly grabbing his hand and yanking him in. He laughed and raised his arm spinning her making her giggle "hmm what do you fancy ninja" he asked, Tali grinned "_The Avengers" _she said her eyes shining "sounds good to me little Black Widow in training" Tony teased making her pout before running over to the bookcase to grab the DVD.

Ziva smiled as she looked down at AJ who was dozing, his head tucked into the crook of her neck breathing slowly. She carefully carried him into his room. Movies were Tony and Tali's special thing, a daddy daughter bonding thing, she would often join them, but the start which involved making snacks, fetching drinks and arguing over seats she let them have to themselves. Whilst they did that she spent time with her son.

She carried him into his room gently sitting him on the rug in the middle of the room as she moved around finding his pyjamas and his little blue blanket that he loved to clutch when he slept. Once she had everything she knelt in front of him, "arms up then my little man" she said softly as she carefully slipped his t shirt over his head before she slipped his jeans off before she encouraged him to stand so that she could slip his pyjamas on. One he was ready she lifted him up into her arms and hugged him for a minute cuddling him close savouring that moment. Slowly she looked at him, running her hand through his dark hair looking into his curious yet sleepy brown eyes.

"Ah it feels like just yesterday that your big sister was the size of you" she murmured moving over to the doorway to find Tony and Tali squabbling over who got to sit where, she smiled at the two of them. "Now she is a young lady" she noted looking back at Aiden "I hope time does not fly by so fast for us with you tateleh, it feels like we did not savour Tali's childhood enough sometimes, I do not want to make the same mistake with you my love"

Aiden gurgled tiredly and she smiled and moved around his room switching off the main light and turning on the little nightlight before she carefully lowered him and the blanket he was cuddling down into the crib that Gibbs had made for her son and covered him with a thin quilt. She stroked his hair out of his eyes before she carefully backed out of the bedroom and closed the door softly after her.

She turned to find that her husband and daughter had sorted themselves out and settled themselves in their allocated seats. As usual Tali had won her favourite seat, she had such a way of getting round Tony, Ziva was amazed at how she managed to still have him wrapped round her little finger.

"Move over" she said to Tony and he shifted over allowing her to settle next to him, curling her legs up underneath her as he wrapped an arm around her pressing his lips to the top of her head. "He go down ok" he murmured and she nodded "he was exhausted and was asleep the moment I laid him down". Tony smiled "already turning into a little man and loving his sleep" he mused "mm wonder where he gets that from" Ziva teased and he gave her a playful growl.

Ziva looked at Tony as they watched the film. Time was precious. They knew better than many people how precious it was; how easily it could be taken away from you and how easily someone you love could get taken away from you. She looked at Tali sitting watching the movie with a smile on her face and suddenly an image of her lying on the ground beaten within an inch of her life bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the chest, struggling to breathe consumed her and she started before she shivered. Both Tony and Tali looked at her questioningly but she forced a smile onto her face and shook her head.

Tali eyed her before she slipped up and moved round so that she sat on the other side of her mother and Ziva smiled as she opened her arms welcoming her in for a hug. She cuddled her daughter tight, savouring the moment, in fear of what might come.

XOXO

Blair looked across at Tim as he drove them home that night, "So what did she want? You know, this morning" She asked and he glanced over at her before returning his eyes to the road in front. "I told her your behaviour had improved drastically. She said she would come back to it in a week or two." He told her and she let out a sigh. "I guess that's good news, right?" She questioned. "Yeah... I hope you don't mind having to stay round at the Jeffersonian until we catch these guys." He added trying to change the subject away from this uncomfortable one of them being separated.

Blair snorted and looked in the other direction, out the window. "I'm not a little kid you know. I can take care of myself." McGee rolled his eyes, "I know you aren't. But you and Tali made up, so you guys are okay together now, aren't you?" She grinned. "No I still hate her."

When McGee hit the brakes she sniggered, "Kidding." She told him in a sing-song voice. "April's nice though." She finished with a smile. "Well I'm glad you've made friends." He replied, "Apparently you haven't made one close enough." She whispered cheekily, but he heard it anyway. "What's that supposed to mean!" he asked affronted. She shrugged, "I don't know. But you need a girlfriend. I mean no offence and all but you have to admit. It would be nice to have someone special in your life wouldn't it?" She questioned. "I have you don't I?" She stuck her tongue out at him, "Not the same thing!"

McGee looked over at her as he pulled up at a red light. "And who are you suggesting I should be with then?" She giggled. "I'm keeping that to myself." He let out a mock sigh. "Of course you are." He said, knowing his daughter's antics all to well. He sighed pretending to be exasperated but he couldn't help but smile as they got closer to home.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to inbox me.**

**Thanks**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys sorry this chapter is so short but I just got back from a girls week in Barcelona so I haven't had much time to edit and extend. Anyway hope you like it.**

Chapter 6

When Kate awoke the next morning for a moment she was confused as to where she was, she blinked groggily looking around the room before remembering that they were in a hotel in Washington DC, trying to catch those serial bank robbers and killers. Slowly she sat up sighing looking over as her husband mumbled shifting as he felt her leave his embrace. She smiled at him before she slipped out of the bed and padded out of the room into the living room of their spacious suite. She prepared some coffee before she headed over to the other bedroom and slowly pushing the door open.

Livie was lying in one of the two double beds cuddled up under the covers still sleeping soundly. Kate gave a small smile and watched her for a minute before she quietly closed the door again. Next she headed into the bathroom to have a wash.

As she felt the warm water wash over her she thought about the case; she knew that if the robbers stuck to their usual routine then another bank would be hit either today or tomorrow and at least one person would die. She shivered at that thought, she felt so powerless; knowing that someone would die but that there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

She slowly shut the water off and stepped out of the shower. She dried herself off before she wrapped a robe about herself and slipped out of the bathroom to find Rick up and sitting at the breakfast bar with a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Morning" she said with a smile as she made herself a cup of coffee. "Hey" he greeted "you should have told me you were having a shower I would have offered you some company" she bit back a laugh and rolled her eyes at him as she kissed him "if I had wanted company I would have woken you" she retorted, he grinned looking pleased with himself.

At that moment Kate's phone rang and she lifted it from the counter smiling when she saw who was calling;

"_Hi Alexis"_ she said _"how's it going in the Hamptons"_

The voice of her excited sounding stepdaughter greeted her back; **"Hey Kate, it's going great, can't believe we all have to head home today though, that's why I am calling. Are you still in DC? Can I come join you?" **

Kate smiled _"of course you can"_ she said with a smile _"we would love for you to join us"_

"**Cool"** Alexis said **"oh you might want to remind dad to charge his phone if he is wondering why I didn't call him because I did"**

Kate looked over and saw that indeed Rick was looking at her questioningly; she reached over and picked up his phone holding it up to give him a pointed look. 'Oh' he mouthed and gave her that innocent cheeky grin that made her smile every time she saw it 'oopsie' he mouthed at her. Shaking her head she went back to Alexis

"_Yeah he forgot again, typical, anyway do you want to talk to your dad, let us know if you do plan to come down" _

"**Ok thanks Kate, will do, don't you dare work too hard and make sure you see some of DC whilst you are out there" **the teenager warned

"_Will do Lex see you soon"_ Kate bade her stepdaughter goodbye before she handed the phone over to Rick who greeted his daughter warmly. Smiling at the affectionate look on his face she headed over to plug his phone in to charge before she headed over to Livie's room opening the door and moving over to the bed sitting on the edge before reaching over to gently shake her daughter's shoulder.

Livie groaned as she felt herself getting shaken awake and rolled over burying her head into the pillow snuggling back down "go… way… too early" she slurred. Kate smiled "come on kiddo wake up" she coaxed "we need to get to the Jeffersonion". "I'll catch up" Livie muttered, Kate shook her head before deciding to use another technique; "your dad is talking to Alexis" she tried. Instantly Livie sat up "really awesome" she said and leapt out of bed shouting "I want to talk to Lexie dad". Kate heard a laugh followed by a thump and as she moved out of the room she was nearly barrelled over by Rick as he ran round the suite with Livie behind him trying to keep the phone.

Groaning at their childish antics she dodged round them and headed into the bedroom and got dressed before slipping back out to see that Livie had commandeered the phone and was curled up on the sofa talking happily to her older sister.

She leaned against the counter watching her feeling a smile slip onto her face as she listened to Livie giggle happily before she saw the files lying on the side and the smile fell away as she remembered their case. She wondered if they had anything new that would help their case. She doubted it. These robbers were too smart and it worried her. If they couldn't find any evidence then there was no way they were going to catch them.

She looked up again as Livie said her goodbyes and she hung up the phone before she looked over at her mom "I hope Lexie does come down" she said "Tali would like to see her again and it would be nice for her to meet Blair and April"

Kate smiled at her as she nodded "come on" she said "go get dressed" she said "we need to get to the Jeffersonion". Livie nodded and headed back into the bedroom as Rick came out all dressed and ready to go and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "Sure we can't spend a bit longer in the bedroom" he asked making her smirk. "You do know that our teenager is still in the suite with us" she said "yeah we could just send her to see her friends"

She rolled her eyes "no she doesn't know her way round DC and we have some serial robbers to catch" "aw" he pouted and she grinned teasingly at him. "Maybe when we get home" she whispered in his ear gently and he grinned "well lets go get them then" he said and she laughed as Livie slipped out of her room.

She took one look at her parents standing together and rolled her eyes "shall we go" she asked walking towards the door "or are you busy". She laughed as Kate gave her cheeky daughter a playful shove as they followed her out the door.

XOXO

When they arrived at the Jeffersonion Booth and his team had already assembled and Gibbs was standing talking to Booth. He nodded when he spotted them and beckoned them over. "Hey" Kate said "is everyone here already" "Tony and Ziva are checking in with Abby and McGee is with Angela running facial recognition" Gibbs said "they'll be here soon"

"Already here" came a sing song voice and they turned to see Tony coming in with Tali "hellooo people" he said "we have been to see Abby who was more interested in catching up with Tali, you would have thought she hadn't seen her in days" Tali grinned at her dad as they stopped in front of the little group and she greeted Livie.

"Did she have anything DiNozzo" Gibbs asked and Tony held out a file "well she went through hours of the footage that she had and she noticed that one of the robbers had something on his arm that she thought might be a tattoo but she couldn't get a clear shot of it so nothing that would identify him". Everyone sighed "well hopefully it will help when we do identify them" Booth said and they nodded. "Ziva will be here in a minute" Tony said "she was just dropping Aiden off at the day care place which I have to say is very nice"

Tali let out a squeal followed by a laugh then as April crept up behind her and gleefully pounced on her and Livie. They turned to grin at her and Blair who was smiling at them uncertainly.

When Ziva arrived all the adults slowly moved into Angela's office to work whilst the four girls stood looking at each other. "Sooo" Tali said "what shall we do today" everyone shrugged "let's go out" April said "I think there is too much doom and gloom around here". "Sounds like fun to me" Tali said looking at Livie "let's give you an amazing tour of DC" Livie grinned "sounds awesome" she said and they grabbed their jackets before they poked their heads round the door to tell their parents that they were off before they slipped out leaving their parents working.

Tony watched them leave thinking. When he looked back Ziva was looking at them questioningly "what" she asked and he shrugged "they manage to get us to all work together but Tali and Blair cant seem to figure themselves out" Ziva smiled "they will" she said squeezing his arm "just give it time" she said softly and he nodded back at her before he focused his attention back on the case.

XOXO

Livie grinned as she listened to April and Tali bickering about something scientific, she didn't have a clue and judging from the look on her face Blair didn't really know either. Tali and April had grown up being taught science, it was their thing.

Slowly she fell into step with Blair and for a moment they just walked side by side listening to their friends bicker. "So how's your horse" Livie asked "Missy isn't it", Blair looked at her and gave her a small smile "she's ok" she said softly "though she isn't my horse". Livie smiled "ah well technicality, you love her as if she was your own right" Blair nodded "yeah I do" she said "how often do you see her" Livie asked

"As often as I can" Blair responded as they followed Tali and April round the corner "I try to go early in the morning so I can ride her, the people there don't know I ride her" she grinned sheepishly. Livie grinned back "did you already know how to ride" she asked, Blair shook her head "nope taught myself riding Missy, I don't have access to a saddle though so I only know how to ride bareback"

Livie stared at her clearly impressed "you taught yourself to ride bareback" she said, Blair nodded "that's really cool" Livie said. Blair smiled and it was clear she liked the compliment because she visibly relaxed "thanks" she said softly. She looked at Livie "maybe if you are here still the next time I go up you could come too"; Livie grinned "sure I'd love too" she said "I really miss Skye". Blair grinned before looking up as April and Tali fell back into step with them having obviously sorted out whatever they were arguing about.

"So where shall we go for lunch" April asked as they strolled leisurely down the road "Applebees" Tali suggested "isn't one close is there" Blair asked. "Let's just go to Denny's" Livie suggested, "sounds good" Tali said with a grin. Once they had all agreed they continued down the road. "Oh wait a sec let me get some money out to pay for the food" April said and they stopped at the nearest bank waiting patiently whilst April headed to the ATM to get some money

"Wonder how are parents are doing" Livie mused "hopefully good" Blair said "they are running out of time before the next bank gets hit, you would think these guys had more than enough by now given how long they have been going, why don't they stop, surely if they counted they would have enough by now"

Tali froze "counting"

Blair and Livie looked at her confused, "um Tali" Livie asked cautiously as April came back over "what's with her" she asked. "Dunno" Blair said "she just froze, yo snap to it DiNozzo" she snapped her fingers in front of Tali's face.

Tali leapt before she instantly began to mutter a string of dates at rapid speed as she paced back at forth

"Ok what is she on" Blair asked eyeing her, April frowned "those are dates of the robberies" she said softly. "Tali what is it"? Tali looked at her "all the banks" she said "they were robbed the day before the money was counted" she stared at April whose eyes widened "of course" she breathed "all the banks were uncertain about how much had been taken because they hadn't counted their money recently, they all were planning to count the money the day after the robbery, that is how they choose the bank"

They all stared at each other, then April whirled round and grabbed Tali's hand "come on" she said "this bank hasn't been robbed yet we should check to see when they are next planning to count the money".

"Wait are you crazy" Blair exclaimed "don't go in there, April" but April was already off dragging April into the building, Livie and Blair looked at each other before they followed. "Guys I really don't think this is a good idea" Blair whispered as April led them over to where a security guard stood. Livie slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone calling her mom.

When she answered she sounded stressed and worn _"hey honey listen we are a bit busy at the moment, can I call you back"_

"**Mom" **Livie interrupted **"Tali figured out how the robbers choose their target" **her mom let out a small gasp but Livie continued **"they rob the bank the day before the money is counted, that way the bank is unsure about how much they get away with" **

There was silence on the other end before Gibbs spoke up; her mom had evidently put her on speaker. _"Hey Livie listen where are you" _**"that's the thing" **Livie said **"April ran into the nearest bank and she is asking the security guard then they count their money"**

Indeed April was talking urgently to the security guard who was arguing with her. _"Livie get out" _her mom said sharply _"get yourselves out." _Livie moved over grabbing April's arm "come on lets go" she pleaded but April refused to budge "just tell me" she pleaded the guard "then I'll go"

He eyed her "tomorrow" he said sharply "we count it tomorrow"

Instantly Livie raised the phone to her ear gasping **"mom the next hit... it is here ... today" **_"__Livie__ get out we are coming now, get out" _her mom shouted.

At that moment there was a loud bang and she whirled round terrified to see masked men entering the bank all of them holding guns. They turned and used a U-shaped bar to lock the doors. Then they turned raising their weapons letting off a short burst of gunfire that made everyone scream in terror "get down on the ground" one of them roared.

The security guard was pushing them away as he went for his weapon at the same time one of the robbers turned on him pointing his weapon at him. "Don't even think about it" he warned in a smooth voice and the guard paused. Livie felt her stomach clench as she spotted something poking out from under his sleeve; the tip of a tattoo; just like the one they had seen on the security footage. The robber turned his masked face to look at the four girls frozen next to the guard. "Hello my darlings" he said "would you do me a favour and show me your hands"

Breathing hard they all lowered themselves down to the ground spreading their hands as his gun swung out to point at them. Once they had done as he had asked the gun swung back to the guard as he strolled over and grabbed hold of Livie's wrist forcing her hand up to show the phone. He wrenched it from her grip and lifted it to his masked mouth "sorry but I am afraid this sweetheart is now otherwise engaged, please call again some other time" and with that he threw the phone to the floor and stamped on it, smashing it, ending the contact they had with their family.

"Up" he snapped and yanked them all to their feet and dragged them over to where the rest of the civilians were crouched. "Go join them on the ground" he ordered, Livie looked at her friends and saw that Tali held a blank expression, Blair looked angry like she hated being forced to do something and April's eyes were wide as they flashed around, calculating everything.

They all sank to the ground arms spread "good" the robber who had brought them over said; he was evidently in charge "now everyone give up your cell phones and throw them in a pile _now_" he shouted the last part and it sent everyone scrambling to do as instructed. Tali kept her face expressionless as she tossed her phone away, April and Blair were glaring at the robbers as they too allowed their phones to slide across the floor away from them.

"Very good" the leader said surveying them all through the holes in his mask. "Now I want to make a few things clear ok" he walked back and forward in front of them "we are here for one purpose ok, to get the money, now as long as you all don't get in our way you shall all be reunited with your loved ones by this evening". He paused to look at them all. "But if any of you get in our way" he said slowly and they all felt a chill of fear slip through them as the gun came up again and he slipped the safety off, "we won't hesitate" he said softly and dangerously.

All around them people whimpered in fear, the leader chuckled "now to show we mean business" he said.

Instantly April, Tali, Blair and Livie all cried out "NO" but it was too late. The leader swung the gun round and fired a shot straight into the security guards scull killing him instantly. Everyone screamed in terror as he laughed manically. "Now up" he snapped "move over there". He guided them out of the way. Livie felt someone catch her hand and she looked over to see Tali standing next to her, her face was still expressionless, but she looked at Livie and squeezed her hand and it was comforting to Livie. She knew that Tali could take care of herself in this situation and that little gesture had just told her that Tali would take care of her too in this. She sank to the floor after her as April sank down onto the other side of her with Blair on her other side. Slowly she drew her knees up to her stomach wrapping her arms around them as she stared at the robbers in front of her and the large guns casually being pointed in her direction.

**Haha cliffhanger – I know I am mean :P.**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone thanks for the reviews. All are appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 7

Kate froze as a smooth taunting voice spoke over the phone saying **"****sorry but I am afraid this sweetheart is now otherwise engaged, please call again some other time" **then there was a crackle as the line went dead. She stared at Rick terrified as he stared at her in horror. In the driver's seat Ziva jammed the gas pedal and the car jerked forward as she sped up her face set in grim determination. Behind her came the other two cars with their sirens blaring, carrying the rest of the worried families.

When they arrived at the site they found it already barricaded up with hostage rescue teams setting up. They all leapt out of the car and Kate was running forward towards the bank ducking under the line ignoring the cops who tried to keep her back. She staggered forward and stared at the bank breathing heavily. "Livie" she whispered in shock and felt tears come to her eyes.

"Hey" she heard someone shout and she turned to see a man storming towards her. "Get out of here" he shouted "this is an active hostage situation; you need to get behind the line"

"No you don't understand" Kate gasped "my name is Detective Kate Beckett NYPD" she yanked out her badge to show him "I have been tracing these guys for months now along with teams from the FBI and NCIS". The guy eyed her "I'm Captain Gregson, leader of this situation" he said gruffly "anything you can tell us". Hurriedly Kate filled him in "but there is something else" she said "my daughter and her three friends are in there"

Gregson's eyes widened "you are telling me there is a cop kid in there" he asked "your cop kid" Kate bit her lip and nodded "there are four cop kids in there" she whispered. Gregson stared at her "four cop kids" he repeated, Kate nodded glancing over to see everyone else standing around her. Gregson groaned and ran his hand through his hair before he looked at them "you know" he said softly "if those robbers find out that they are cop kids they will most likely kill them". Kate nodded and ducked her head feeling Rick slip his hand into hers squeezing it comfortingly.

Gregson sighed again "I shouldn't let you anywhere near here" he said looking at them all "but right now we need all the information we can get so you can help as long as you don't let it get too personal ok". They all nodded not speaking and followed him over to his command post where he showed them the layout of the bank and described what he knew about the situation inside.

Just as he was finishing the phone rang and he instantly leapt towards it, quickly they grabbed some headphones as he answered. "T_his is Captain Gregson, I am in charge of the situation outside who am I talking to" _there was a pause before the same smooth voice Kate had heard last time spoke up "**hello Captain Gregson, you are speaking to the person in charge on the inside but ... I don't want to talk to you"**

Gregson frowned _"well who do you want to talk to"_ he asked. When the robber spoke he sounded happy, like he knew that he had the upper hand and was enjoying it **"I want to talk to the lady cop, the one who has been chasing me since New York, I know she followed me here and I know she is out there"**

Everyone looked at Kate who glanced at Gregson before she spoke up. "_This is Detective Kate Beckett NYPD_". "**Hello Kate**" he greeted "_hello"_ she said leaning against the table "_what should I call you_" he chuckled **"oh I don't want to make friends Kate I just want to get out of here with the money, as I have every other time**". "_Right_" Kate said looking around _"how are the hostages, how many do you have"_ she asked, he chuckled again **"I have 21 hostages Kate and they are all fine, none of them were hurt" **_"but I take it you killed the security guard"_ Kate said **"yeah I did"** he said **"he was annoying me".**

Kate clenched her fists but he continued **"something is different this time Kate, we haven't had pretty young ladies as hostages before, still little kiddies, usually we just have boring business men and soccer mommies**" he chuckled and Kate heard the sound of him moving **"never had kiddies like these before" **he said. Kate swallowed hating the almost perverse way he kept calling them 'kiddies' but he continued "**especially four such pretty young ladies, they are lovely looking girls"**

Kate spun round as she heard a crash and pushed Tony away as he lunged for the microphone his eyes blazing with hatred at the way the robber was talking about his daughter. Ziva and Gibbs managed to grab hold of him and drag him back Ziva frantically trying to calm him cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look into her eyes as she whispered frantically to him. Breathing hard Kate looked over at the others; Rick looked mad but was in control, McGee looked worried and mad at the same time and Booth had managed to keep his face expressionless though his jaw was clenched.

Breathing heavily and fighting not to let her voice tremble she carried on _"what is it that you want" _she asked. **"Oh what I always want Kate"** he said cheerfully **"an escape… I want a van, completely clean, no plates, no discernable marks on it and above all no tracking devices, we will check, you have one hour, I will call you if I need something else Kate, and it had better be you who picks up, I don't want to talk to that other guy again got it".** _"Yes"_ Kate said softly _"but what do I get in return for this"_ he chuckled **"I won't shoot any hostages Kate" **

_"No"_ Kate said fiercely _"you won't __touch__ any of them, do you hear me, you won't touch any of them or shoot any of them, understand"_

There was silence on the other end and for a minute Kate panicked thinking she had pushed to hard then he answered **"ok Kate, you have one hour to get my van and in that hour I won't touch any of the hostages, unless they misbehave of course, speak to you later" **and with that he hung up.

Kate sank onto a chair and put her head in her hands. "Good work detective" Gregson said "you did well to make sure he wouldn't touch them". Kate looked up at him "that was my daughter he was talking about" she said softly, "I know" he said "we have a van on the way ok, we will get your kid out, we will get them all out ok" he looked around and Kate followed his gaze; her new team looked pissed and very worried, they looked like they trusted the robbers about as much as she did. Sighing she replaced her head in her hands and prayed that nothing would go wrong.

XO

Tali swallowed as he hung up the phone after talking to Livie's mom. He looked at the four of them before he sighed "shame" he murmured before he stood and moved over to where the other robbers stood and they began to converse. Tali looked at Livie and saw that her eyes were wide, she nudged her gently "you ok" she whispered when she looked over at her. Livie nodded "I just don't like knowing that our parents are out there" she whispered "and that he is using my mom to make demands" she paused before she took a deep breath and continued "also being in this situation reminds me of when I was kidnapped". Tali instantly squeezed her hand again "it's ok" she whispered "we'll get out of here I promise, everything is going to be ok", Livie nodded but she didn't look at her.

Tali looked at the other hostages; they all looked absolutely terrified, then she looked at April and Blair. They both looked remarkably in control, if not a little pissed off, funny how they were the least scared here. But April and Blair had been through a lot, they were used to bad situations, they would be fine.

She looked at the door and wishing she hadn't made the connection right in front of the bank. Maybe then they wouldn't be here, they would be enjoying a nice lunch at Denny's; laughing together without a care in the world.

She sighed and ducked her head trying to think of a plan of action should they come to need one. She could fight; maybe Blair could join in and fight with her, to protect their friends.

Just then there was a shout and her head whipped up to see all of the robbers crowded round the television which was playing the news. A young female reporter was standing in front of the bank in which they were now trapped reporting;

_"Just 20 minutes ago this bank in midtown was hit by the notorious bank robbers that have been terrorising this city and others before it for many years now, sources confirm that there are 21 hostages inside waiting to be rescued and we recently learned that there is at least one cop child in there..."_

Tali swore under her breath as the robbers let out roars of anger and the leader whirled round and stormed over to them. He grabbed Tali and Livie and threw them away from the other hostages before he grabbed April and Blair and flung them down beside them. "So" he said breathing heavily "one of you is a cop kid huh, which one of you is it huh" he grabbed April yanking her up glaring at her before he struck her hard across the face snapping her head back before throwing her back down. "Who is it" he shouted grabbing Livie and punching her in the gut making her cry out as she doubled over before he threw her back down. Tali leapt to her feet as he moved towards them again with his eyes blazing. "STOP" she shouted "don't hurt them ok, it's me, I'm the cop kid"

He turned to face her glaring at her "you" he hissed "yes" she said defiantly "me, I am the cop kid"

"So am I", Tali looked over as Blair rose slowly to her feet and came to stand beside her. "We are both cop kids" she said "our parents work together at NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service" he glared at them "prove it" he snapped fingering his gun. Slowly Blair reached into her pocket and pulled out her visitor ID badge for NCIS. She looked at Tali who slowly pulled out her own and they held them out to the robber who snatched them away glaring at the badges before he threw them aside. "And what about your friends" he snapped "not cop kids" Tali said smoothly "April's parents work for the Jeffersonion Institute and Livie's dad is a writer, her mom is a lawyer"

He glared at her before he turned to April "is what she says true" he demanded "yes" April said "my mother is a forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonion institute". He eyed her "and you father" he snapped "works with my mom" April said coolly. He frowned obviously worried about what to do next "what about her parents" he barked jerking his head at Livie. "As Tali said" April responded "her dad is an author her mom is a lawyer". He glared at her before turning on Livie "that true"' he growled; Livie didn't look at him as she shakily nodded her head.

Snarling under his breath he grabbed April and Livie by the back of their shirts and shoved them back to the other terrified hostages before he turned to Tali and Blair. "Frisk them" he ordered and Tali felt herself get grabbed and harsh hurting hands searched her and Blair. To her relief they didn't find the small knife hidden in its sheath in her belt, nor did they find her spare concealed in her boot. "They are clear sir" one of the robbers said "good" the leader snarled "I am glad you haven't been smuggling information out". Both Tali and Blair glared at him "well I can't risk you somehow sneaking information out" he said "so I am very sorry about this my darlings"

He raised his gun and pointed it at Blair. Instantly April and Livie began to cry out "no don't kill them don't kill them". The robber ignored them though as he took aim at Blair's skull. Blair didn't move; she just stood there frozen staring at the gun.

"I wouldn't shoot her if I were you" Tali said calmly and he looked at her coldly "oh and why not" he snapped "because we can be useful" she said "our parents are out there, they have been working with Detective Beckett to try and catch you after you killed that marine a few robberies ago, you could use us as bargaining chips cus they don't want to see us get hurt, plus they don't know that you know we are in here, that will give you an advantage in a negotiation"

The robber glared at her as she stood there gazing at them. No one spoke as he deliberated "you do make a good point my dear" he said smoothly and to everyone's relief he lowered the gun. He turned to his companions "put these two over there" he ordered" away from the others". Tali looked at April and Livie as she and Blair were dragged away, she gave them a reassuring smile as she and Blair were forced to sit down "keep your hands where I can see them" one of the robbers snapped and they both placed their hands on their lap.

April and Livie stared at them confused about what they were doing but Tali didn't move. Then she looked at Blair who slowly looked back at her "why did you stand up" Tali whispered "they only knew that there was one cop kid, they didn't know that there was more than one". Blair smiled "couldn't let you take all the credit and be the superhero" she said dryly. Tali looked at her and sighed "what are you going to do now" she asked "cus now we are both in danger", Blair smiled again "well I guess we'll just have to say alive" she said. Tali looked at her "and that is going to involve us working together" Blair looked at her "I guess we can do that" she said and she gave a small smirk. Tali stared at her before she uncertainly returned the gesture. They both turned to face the front again allowing plans to formulate in their minds.

XOXO

Kate sat on the chair staring at the doors to the bank wishing they would open and allow her child out along with her friends and the other hostages. She swallowed and ran her hand through her hair; she looked over at Ziva who was talking to Gibbs who was talking soothingly to her before he touched her shoulder and moved over to talk to the hostage rescue team. Ziva stood there before she moved over to sit next to Kate who looked at her "you ok" she asked softly. Ziva didn't respond at first, then she nodded "I know Tali is strong and she will protect herself and the others, I just wish I was in there not her" Kate sighed "I wish the same thing too" she murmured.

They both looked around Brennan was talking to Booth her eyes wide and frightened for her daughter, it looked like she was demanding that Booth did something and all he could do was look at her helplessly because there was nothing he could do. Tony was leaning against the table staring at the blueprints of the bank as though hoping to find a solution in there. Rick was no where in sight but it was McGee's face that broke Kate's heart. He was standing there staring around looking shocked and terrified for his daughter; they had been in this position before, he hadn't, their daughters had been in danger before, his hadn't. He had only just found her, now she had been ripped away from him again. He didn't know what to do, but wanted to be doing something, they knew that sometimes there was no movement and from time to time, no movement was the best movement.

It was at that moment the news came on the tiny TV perched next to them and they saw the female reporter standing on the other side of the barrier talking about the hostage situation;

_"Just 20 minutes ago this bank in midtown was hit by the notorious bank robbers that have been terrorising this city and others before it for many years now, sources confirm that there are 21 hostages inside waiting to be rescued and we recently learned that there is at least one cop child in there..."_

Instantly Kate and Ziva leapt up running towards her with Tony right behind them shouting. Kate grabbed the microphone as Tony and Ziva wrestled the camera from the camera man ending the broadcast. "Are you out of your mind" Kate shouted at the reporter "what the hell were you thinking?"

The reporter looked startled but held her ground "I am doing my job" she said stiffly "reporting the facts to let the public know what is going on, shouldn't you be doing your job and saving those hostages lives". "You probably just sentenced those children to death" Ziva shouted storming over to her, her eyes blazing with anger and quickly Gibbs leapt forward grabbing hold of her. "What the hell is going on" he growled as he struggled to hold Ziva back. "She just reported that there are cop children in the bank" Ziva shouted and Gibbs froze "what" he growled "How the hell do you even know that". The reporter crossed her arms defensively "I wont give up my sources" she proclaimed and Gibbs cursed angrily.

At that moment Gregson appeared "Detective incoming call" he shouted, still cursing they all sprinted over and Kate grabbed her headset before she pressed answer _"hello"_ she said twisting her hands nervously.

"**Hello Kate, I found the two cop kids" **he greeted and Kate frowned looking at the others. _"The two cop kids" _she asked. **"Don't pretend you don't know Kate, I know their parents are out there with you, the fiery little one told me, I have their badges here, Blair McGee and Talia DiNozzo". **Kate stared at Tony, Ziva and Tim who were all standing there looking shocked. **"Are the parents there Kate" **he asked. _"Yes" _Kate said slowly _"they are" _

He chuckled **"seems things might not go as smoothly now hmm, I guess, I understand you have been working with the parents to try and catch us. That must mean you know the girls". **_"Yes I know Tali and Blair" _Kate said _"they haven't done anything wrong so don't hurt them". _He chuckled again **"well it is a good job the little one convinced me not to kill them otherwise your pleas would be to late Kate" **

Kate swallowed _"are they ok" _she asked **"oh they are fine" **he said **"I separated them from the other hostages and their little friends, didn't want them formulating escape plans with them". **Kate sighed in relief, at least they were all ok.

"**So I think you owe me something Kate" **he continued **"I was mad but I didn't hurt the girls even though they were naughty, I think you owe me, plus it has been fifty minutes". **Kate swallowed _"what do you want" _she asked and he chuckled **"I want you to tell me what the hostage rescue guy …Captain Commando is planning". **Kate looked over at Gregson who shook his head **"come on Kate tell me, I don't want to have to back down on my word" **

Kate looked over to see Tony, Ziva and Tim staring at her pleadingly and she looked back at Gregson looking panicked. _"I… I don't know" _she said _"they have been keeping me out since I am not part of their team". _**"Hmm"** he mused **"I would guess they are planning a raid". **Kate ducked her head, that was exactly what they were planning, to find a distraction and barge in as soon as they knew if the hostages were out of the way, at the moment they had no way of finding out.

"_That would be most likely correct" _she said slowly and Gregson glared at her but she ignored him **"mmm yes it would" **he said **"anyway, I want my van Kate, is it there yet". **_"No" _Kate said **"well you had better hurry it up" **he said **"or I might have to start with the hostages, maybe I will start with the lovely kiddies, cop brats first".**_ "Don't you lay a finger on them" _Kate snapped **"I won't as long as my van is here in time" **he said and then he hung up.

Kate groaned "please tell me that van is close" she mumbled "twenty minutes out" one of the hostage rescue guys said "urgh they don't have twenty minutes" Kate said looking at her watch. They had twelve minutes. "Can't you get it here faster" the guy shook his head "not without a time machine" he said. "Well" Gregson said "we could raid but they will be expecting us now" he glared at Kate "why the hell did you tell him" he asked and Kate leapt to her feet.

"Because my daughter and her friends are in there" she snarled "they are in there and if I didn't tell him he was going to shoot Tali or Blair followed by April or Livie, I was not going to let anything happen to them ok, I will do whatever it takes to get those girls out of there even if it means siding with the bad guys once in a while". He frowned at her "look detective I know what you must be going through but…" before he could finish Kate cut him off "no you don't" she shouted "do you have kids?... well they aren't in there are they… no your kids are safe, our kids are being held at gun point" and with that she stormed off throwing herself down onto a bench and growling a stream of curses at Gregson and the robbers.

"Kate" she looked up to see Alexis ducking under the police line and running towards her. Kate waved the police officers back as they came to take Alexis out again and caught hold of the teenager into a hug. "Lex what are you doing here" she asked "dad called and told me" she said "I was already in DC… I left the Hamptons this morning… dad told me not to come but I had to know what was going on, are they ok". Kate sighed and hugged her step daughter tightly "we don't know" she murmured "the robbers know that Tali and Blair are cop kids but they don't appear to know about Livie and April, but they are getting angry now and they want a van like now and we cant get it for another twenty minutes" "it'll be ok" Alexis whispered "I promise Kate they will all be ok"

Kate nodded into Alexis' shoulder not trusting herself to look up, the tears were threatening to spill out now, and she knew that if they started they wouldn't be able to stop. She feared that if the robbers discovered Livie and April also, they would be mad, and this time they wouldn't be talked out of pulling the trigger.

XO

Tali sighed and shifted, they had been here for a while now and she was getting tense, and tense wasn't good, that meant she was far more likely to get mad and snap and she could guess that wouldn't went well for anyone. She looked over at Blair who was staring into space.

"Hey" she hissed and slowly Blair looked over at her "they are getting jumpy" she said nodding to the robbers. "So are you" Blair hissed back "you are as tense as a cornered wolf" "yeah well I don't like not having the upper hand, listen they are planning something" Tali whispered "they asked for a van, they ask for a van every time but they never use it, it is buying them time and allowing them to have the upper hand over the cops". Blair looked at her "well you gave them that upper hand" she pointed out "you're welcome" Tali retorted "next time I wont stop them from shooting you… listen they are planning something and we need to stop them"

Blair stared at her "Tali we are out numbered like five to one, we are unarmed how are you planning to stop them". "Who says we are unarmed" Tali whispered and Blair frowned at her "you have a weapon" she asked confused "rule nine" Tali said "ah right" Blair said nodding. After a brief pause she glanced at her "so what do you have in mind ninja warrior" Tali shrugged "I would rather not kill, I think we need to find a way to get a message to the people outside"

Blair gave her a dark look "sorry how are you planning to do that, I think they would notice smoke signals" Tali ignored her snide comment and looked around thinking; the robbers were either emptying the vault or pacing back and forth eyeing the hostages, her gaze landed on the other hostages at the same time she was blinded by a dazzling light. She blinked shielding her eyes to see that April was using the shiny reflective surface of her watch to attract her attention, she reflected the light into Blair's eyes making her mutter a stream of curses before she noticed it was April. They both frowned at her but then she and Livie both gazed at something pointedly before they looked back at them and repeated the gesture.

Blair and Tali followed her gaze before they saw what she was looking at; the dead security guard and lying next to him was a radio. Tali looked at Blair "there is our way of communication" she whispered, she looked at April and nodded and watched as April pointed at herself and then nodded at the radio before she shifted. Tali shook her head frantically nodding to the robbers pacing back and forth. April frowned and pointed at Tali and then at the robbers.

Tali stared at her before slowly she nodded and looked at Blair "fancy giving me a hand" she asked. Blair eyed her "we need to distract the robbers so April can get the radio" she said. She didn't like the almost mischievous grin that slipped onto Blair's face "I know exactly how to" she whispered "and I think I will enjoy this, just play along" and before Tali could stop her she leapt to her feet turning on her.

"What do you mean this is my fault" she shouted "this isn't my fault it is your fault". Tali stared at her before she realised what she was doing and leapt to her feet after her "how is this my fault" she shouted "you were the one who wanted to walk down this street". "Yeah but you are the stupid idiot who figured out the connection right outside the bank" Blair shouted "and you went in first I followed you didn't I? I told you it was a bad idea to come in and that we should listen to our parents and not go in any banks you never listen to me"

All the robbers were storming over to them "hey" one of them shouted "shut up and sit back down" but Tali and Blair ignored them circling so that the robbers turned away from the other hostages. "Oh I never listen" Tali shouted "when have you ever listened to me, you have ignored me since we first met, you have never listened to me, you refused to hear my side of the story, you came up with your own little view on me didn't you and them you refused to listen"

"Well my view wasn't that far off was it little princess of the bullpen" Blair sneered and Tali saw April dive towards the body. Hurriedly to keep their attention away from her friend Tali turned back to Blair who was still ranting "you think the whole world revolves around you don't you little princess, mommy and daddy adore you, even my dad adores you, you can't do a thing wrong, you could break the law and still not do a thing wrong, they worship the ground you walk on don't they little princess"

"SHUT UP" one of the robbers shouted as the leader came storming over "what is going on" he demanded "they just started shouting and arguing at each other" one of his men said "well then gag them" the leader snapped and the robbers moved forward at the same time Tali saw April dive back to where Livie was crouched and the two of them slid back so they were behind the other hostages. Tali knew they needed more time, to find the correct frequency so she launched at Blair again. "You are the one with the criminal record" she shouted "you are the bitch who shuts everyone out, my family opened themselves up to you, invited you in, but you are still a bitch to them, to me, get a heart"

Blair growled at her yet there was no anger in her eyes, she didn't seem to mean it, she was just recycling her comments from their previous fight, Tali smiled to herself; now this was team work.

"You spoiled selfish little brat" Blair shouted "I hate you; I liked it when it was just me in the bullpen and you were away". "Oh now whose selfish" Tali shouted back "oh I can't share because everything has to be mine, hey those are my parents in that bullpen you cant steal them from me" "then don't try to steal my dad" Blair screamed "I'm not trying to" Tali screamed back glancing over to see April fiddling frantically with the radio. More time was needed and she could see only one other distraction.

She lunged at Blair

She saw the shock in Blair's eyes as they tumbled to the floor and Tali landed on top of her instantly lowering her head to Blair's ear whispering "they need time to figure out the frequency just play along"

She flung her weight sideways making it look like Blair had thrown her off and she leapt up at the same time Blair did. This time they didn't circle they just went for each other.

They collided hard and Tali felt Blair yank at her hair, instantly she kneed her in the stomach causing her to grunt and fall away. Then Blair struck out at her but Tali blocked her blow and the one that followed before she swung some of her own which Blair blocked. Blair struck out striking her across the cheek sending her staggering back before she let out a growl and launched for Tali throwing her back to the ground striking her across the cheek again.

Neither of them held back, they knew this had to be convincing and obviously they were being very convincing because the robbers had no clue what to do and were staring at them in shock. April and Livie were shouting, obviously confused about whether they were actually fighting or not and some of the other hostages were shouting too worried they might upset the robbers and they probably were. But they had to let April find the correct frequency.

Blair was trying to pin her but Tali clawed at her scratching at her neck again as they rolled over and over trying to gain the upper hand growling curses at each other. Blair looked mad to Tali; her face like her own was twisted into a savage snarl. But unlike last time there was no anger in her eyes, only concentration and determination.

That was when the robbers came to their senses and moved forward yanking them off of each other. Again they clung to each other still scratching and clawing at each other. Swearing one of them grabbed Blair by the throat yanking her away as she choked and gasped but he didn't loosen the grip he had on her. Panicked Tali leapt at him striking him desperately to get him to let Blair go. She struck him in the nose causing him to swear and release Blair to rush at her striking her hard in the ribs causing her to yell in pain.

She saw Blair get grabbed by two men and felt her own arms get grabbed and as hard as she might struggle she couldn't free herself. The leader strode over to her and struck her hard sending her head snapping back, breathing heavily she turned to look at him before she spat in his face; he growled and grabbed her face glaring at her as she glared back at him.

Still breathing heavily he glared at her before he looked at Blair struggling in her captor's grip then he turned back to Tali. "You know what" he said in a soft and dangerous voice "I think I only need one cop kid to barter with and I don't think it is you"

Tali stared at him as he smiled a cruel evil smile "get her to her knees" he ordered and Tali grunted as one of them struck her in the stomach causing her to double over and make it easy to force her to her knees. She glared at him as he moved over so that he towered over her displaying his dominance over her easily. "Any last words" he hissed "just that I hope you meet your end soon" Tali said coldly and he stared at her "aren't you going to beg for your life darling" "I won't beg especially not to you" Tali said "I won't give you that satisfaction"

He smirked "very well then my dear" he said "you shall die on the ground below me"

Tali struggled, fighting against his men but they held her tight refusing to let her move. She glared at him as he bought the gun to point at her head.

She stared at it but she felt no fear. She gazed straight at the barrel watching as he smiled at her before he slowly clicked the safety off and placed his finger on the trigger.

Slowly she formed an image of her family in her mind. Of her wonderful father and the movie nights they would no longer have. Of her caring mother and the comfort she would no longer receive. Of her brother who she would never get to see grow up. And of the rest of her family at NCIS; Gibbs, Ducky, Palmer, Abby, Tim, and even Blair. And with that image in her mind she lifted her head proudly and waited to die.

XOXO

_This could be my chance. I could be the only one. I would have my own family that I wouldn't have to share. _

Blair blinked again as the barrel of the gun moved up the point at Tali's forehead.

_This is the only chance I'll get. If we get out of this alive we'll have to be with each other part of almost every day. _

The safety clicked off.

_But they would never forgive me, should I let her die. It'd be my fault, they'd never forgive me for not trying; she's their princess. _

Blair moved forward and everything seemed to play out in slow motion. The gun went off and all she felt was pain as the bullet hit her in the stomach. But Tali was alive. Tali was safe.

And that was all that mattered.

**Haha well I bet you didn't expect that ending did you.**

**If you want to find out what happens soon please review and the next chapter will be uploaded as soon as possible. **

**Thanks. Please don't hesitate to inform us of any suggestions, queries or ideas, we would love to hear them.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone thanks for all the reviews, they are much appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 8

Tali didn't immediately understand what had happened. One minute she had been staring at the barrel of the gun waiting for her life to end, the next that gun was going off at the same time someone leapt in front of her and it was who it was that shocked her most.

She stared in horror as Blair exhaled sharply as the bullet buried itself into her stomach and she staggered backwards. She turned halfway to look at Tali before she stumbled and collapsed to the floor.

Tali stared in dismay before everything clicked into place, Blair … shot…. Blood.

"NO" she screamed in horror and instantly began to struggle before she fought herself free. Instantly she fell down next to Blair who was gasping and shifting, her eyes wide with pain.

"Blair" she gasped in shock instantly placing her hands over the wound pressing against it feeling hot blood trying to force its way out. Blair groaned gasping "urgh it hurts" she murmured.

"You idiot" Tali sobbed pressing harder "why the hell did you do that you idiot, they were going to kill me, they weren't going to hurt you, why the hell did you get in the way". Blair groaned again "you're welcome" she muttered before falling silent. Tali looked away from Blair's stomach and glanced up at her face, where her eyelids were fluttering. "Blair. Stay awake ok. Don't close your eyes." She begged. Blair winced and bit her lip, "Tali." she started but Tali didn't let her finish "No. Blair. Stay awake. You don't get to die ok. You saved my life, now it's my turn to save yours." She told her, pressing harder on the still bleeding wound, causing Blair to cry out in pain.

"Tali" Blair groaned "stop it" "no" Tali cried "no you are not going to die, you hear me, please Blair hang on, hang on for Timmy, he needs you Blair". Blair shifted whimpering in pain "he lasted fifteen years without me, I think he will be fine" she moaned. "No Blair he loves you, he doesn't want to lose you" Tali begged "please Blair, don't leave him ... don't leave … me"

Blair's eyes fluttered before she focused on Tali who stared at her fighting to stop her tears. "Please" she whispered "don't leave our family"

Blair stared at her, her eyelids still fluttering "stay with me" Tali whispered "please hang on" she shifted and then let out another cry of pain. Tali looked up to see guns pointing at her obviously making sure she didn't try anything. She looked at the leader. "Please" she begged "let her go, let someone get her out of here, let them take her to the hospital where she can be saved"

The leader didn't look at her as he peered through a crack in the blinds "I do not want her to be saved little darling" he said "I have no need for two cop children remember". "But she is innocent" Tali screamed "please let her go, you can kill me I don't care just let her go"

He turned to look at her studying her before he moved over and swung his gun up to point at Livie and April "you two" he snapped "go help her save your friend". They stared at him confused before they slowly rose to their feet and Tali saw April slip the radio into her pocket of her jacket quickly as they moved over to Tali and Blair kneeling down next to them their faces instantly turning worried when they saw Blair with Tali's bloodstained hands pressed over her stomach. Tali stared at them feeling tears stream down her cheeks "I don't know what to do" she sobbed "I don't know how to save her"

April looked at her before she looked around at the hostages "does anyone have something we can use to stop the bleeding" she asked "please we don't have much time". Slowly one of the bank workers raised his hand "there is a spare shirt in my desk drawer" he said gesturing to it. Livie rose to her feet flinching briefly as the guns swung up to point at her, then keeping her hands raised she moved over to the desk and pulled out the shirt moving quickly back over to Blair handing the shirt to April who caught hold of it. "Tali" she said seriously "we have to swap your hands for the shirt ok, it will slow the blood down a lot more" Tali nodded still struggling to hold back tears and quickly they exchanged her bloodstained hands for the shirt which instantly blossomed with colour as blood continued to try and force its way out. Blair cried out again, her eyes were wide and dazed.

"I can't feel my legs" she mumbled "shit she's going into shock" April swore "come on Blair hang on hang on dammit". She looked at Tali "I don't know what I can do" she said "Tali getting shot in the stomach… it doesn't have a high survival rate". Tali stared at her "no" she gasped "no Blair you are not going to die you hear me, you are not going to die", Blair looked at her "keep telling yourself that" she mumbled and her eyelids fluttered again. "Livie tilt her head up, keep her awake" April said pushing down on the wound angrily.

Tali looked over as the leader picked up the phone and with a smile on his face he called their team outside.

XO

Gibbs looked at the team around him, everyone was stressed, there was no denying it, they were all terrified for their children, especially those on his own team; Tony was pacing back and forth angrily, Ziva was flicking her knife open and shut; her expression was ice cold. He watched Tony suddenly stop and his gaze fell on Tim who was sat on a bench staring at the bank with a look of horror and fear in his eyes. Slowly Tony moved over and sat next to him, speaking softly to him as a friend and a fellow father in the same situation.

Gibbs looked over at Ziva and moved over to her grabbing a chair and setting it beside hers before lowering himself down next to her. She had stopped playing with the knife now and was running her hands through her hair staring at the ground. Slowly he looked over at Kate who was talking with Gregson watching his men prepare for a raid should they find the opportunity.

He slowly looked back at his female agent "Ziver" he said softly reaching out to grip her shoulder comfortingly "Tali will be fine, she is a smart kid". Gradually Ziva lifted her head from her hands though she continued to stare at the ground "I know" she said softly "she is smart but that is what worries me". Gibbs looked at her questioningly "you know what she is like Gibbs; she won't let anyone get hurt if she can help it, even if that means getting herself hurt"

Gibbs pulled her close and kissed her forehead reassuringly. Uncertainly Ziva looked over at Tony and Tim "how is Tim holding up" she asked "not good" he responded quietly "he only just found her, he is afraid of loosing her again" Ziva sighed sympathetically. Kate came over at that moment "Gregson wants to talk to us" she said quietly and moved over to tell Brennan and Booth. Tony and Tim came over with Tim looking slightly calmer. Ziva slipped her hand into Tony's and he gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster as they moved towards the command post.

A gunshot rang out from inside the bank, echoing through the near silence.

Everyone froze staring at the bank in horror at the same time a horrified scream of _"NO" _sounded from inside.

Ziva let out a cry of terror and ran forward, Gibbs leapt after her and managed to catch hold of her "no" she cried out "Tali"

"Ziva you have to calm down" Gibbs shouted struggling to keep hold of her "no" she sobbed "Tali". She struggled frantically in his grip fighting to get away. He heard shouting from beside him and saw Tony fighting to hold on to McGee who had a look of horror on his face. "Tim" Tony shouted "stop you can't go in there" Tim ignored him still fighting "let me go Tony she's my daughter… Blair" he gasped.

"Tim" Tony said again "listen I know how you feel ok, Tali is in there too and I love Blair just like you love Tali, I know how you feel but you have to stop Tim, you cannot go in there". Tim fought for a bit longer before slowly he stopped and he stared at Tony before he looked over at Gibbs and Ziva, slowly Gibbs looked down at Ziva, she had tears trickling down her cheeks and was sobbing quietly for her daughter. Looking around he saw the other agents all looking petrified; Rick had his arms round Alexis and his eldest daughter was clinging to him as she stared at the bank where her little sister was being held, they had no clue what was going on and that was terrifying. Kate was standing frozen beside him her eyes wide and frightened.

Gregson came over with his men "we are going to have to raid" he said "we don't know what happened, we have to go in there" they all just stared at him in panic.

The phone rang at that moment and they all dived towards it and Kate grabbed the phone. _"What happened" _she demanded **"I shot one of the cop girls" **he said calmly _"who" _Kate asked desperately looking around at them all. **"I don't know and I don't care Kate, now listen to me I have my gun aimed at the other cop child's head… I know that they are gearing up for a raid out there and unless you want me to blow her brains out I suggest you stop it now because after her come the other two"**

Kate whirled round but Booth, Gibbs and Rick were already sprinting towards Gregson and his men shouting at them to stop. Gregson was shouting at them to get clear but Gibbs stepped in front of them shouting that they knew the raid was coming and they would shoot the girls if they went in. Gregson didn't look very happy and he deliberated for a moment before he began to shout ordering his men back.

Gasping Kate shouted down the phone _"we stopped it we stopped it don't hurt them" _**"very good Kate" **he praised **"now I don't care whether the girl lives or dies but the other girls are getting very upset and if I shoot them all it will mean I have less hostages and the other hostages are upset too so here"**

There was a rustle and then Tali spoke and it sounded like she was crying her eyes out. **"**_**Kate" **_she sobbed _"Tali" _Kate breathed _"listen your mom and dad are here". _Quickly she handed the phone over and Ziva caught it up frantically gasping _"Tali what happened aheva" __**"he was trying to shoot me" **_Tali sobbed _**"he tried to shoot me in the head but … Blair stepped in the way and… and he shot her" **_

Everyone stared at each other in shock. Blair had saved Tali's life, that seemed like too much to comprehend. Blair hated Tali, why would she do that? It was Gibbs who came to his senses first _"Tali" _he called _"where did he shoot her sweetheart" __**"in the stomach" **_Tali sobbed _**"he shot her in the stomach and I can't stop the bleeding"**_

Everyone glanced around and saw the horror they felt reflected in each others eyes as they all knew the severity of a gunshot wound to the stomach. It was Gibbs who once again leapt to it _"Tali listen to me" _he said _"keep her still ok, don't move her_, _and keep her conscious do you hear me? Keep her awake Tali"_

"_**I can't she keeps drifting in and out" **_Tali cried _**"come on Blair please don't leave me" **_they heard her beg.

Gibbs looked at Tim and saw that his face was clouded with pain. Praying that look would not remain on his face he continued to speak _"keep pressure on the wound ok… now are you ok Tali". __**"Yes" **_she sobbed _"hey listen Tali stay calm ok you hear me everything is going to be ok". _But his comforting words did little to soothe her as she continued to sob _**"no Blair" **_she wailed then _**"please let her go" **_she sobbed to the robbers _**"please I'll do anything" **_they heard the robbers laugh at her pleas before they evidently snatched the phone away from Tali as she continued to beg.

"**Is my van there yet Kate" **the leader asked and slowly Kate took the microphone back. _"No" _she said bluntly "_it is stuck in traffic" _he sighed and tutted as though disappointed at her **"well then" **he said **"I guess I have to shoot a hostage…hmm who to choose". **Everyone gasped in fright as they heard him pace back and forth before he spoke in a pondering voice **"maybe I will just finish off the injured one, that way I won't be losing any"**

Instantly they heard Tali scream _**"no don't touch her please" **_**"get out of the way you little brat or I will simply shoot you first" **the leader snarled. _"No don't shoot them" _Kate begged _"I swear to you the van is on its way I cannot control traffic or the city, we just need a little more time" _

There was a long silence before there was a loud crack as another gunshot went off causing them all to flinch and then there were screams from within the bank from the other hostages. _"What was that" _Kate cried panicked **"it was a warning shot Kate, you had better hurry that van up because next time I won't miss" **and with that he hung up.

Slowly everyone turned to look at McGee who looked shocked and dazed "Blair" was all he could stammer before he staggered backwards and Tony caught hold of him gently pushing him into a chair. "Anyone have any water" he asked "I do in my car" Kate said slowly and moved slowly away from them towards her car ducking under the police line fending off reporters and worried family members of the hostages and made her way to the car reaching in to pull out the bottle of water.

She was just pulling out when she heard a strange clicking sound. Frowning she located it to find that it was coming from her spare radio and that was what confused her; very few people knew the frequency to that radio. Still frowning she carried it and the water back to the team and handed the water to Tim before she lifted the radio and hesitantly pushed the speak button and asked "hello", instantly she was greeted by a flurry of clicks.

"What is that" Booth asked coming over, she shrugged before asking. "Who's there". There was a pause before the clicks came again slower and more pointed "is that Morse code" Booth asked and she nodded grabbing a pad of paper as the slow and pointed clicks repeated themselves, and through the length of the clicks she deciphered what it was they were saying and she gasped.

"April" she asked incredulously dropping the pad with the girl's name on in surprise, there was a single click. Kate felt a tiny smile slip onto her face as she realised what must have happened. They must have somehow gotten hold of the radio; it was probably the dead security guard's radio. She knew Livie knew the frequency of her spare radio; it was something she had had her memorise just in case something happened; something like this and Kate was very glad she had. She stared at Booth and everyone else before handing the radio to Booth who caught hold of it.

"April" he said "one click yes, two clicks no, can you talk"

Click click

"Can they hear us?"

Click click

"Ok good" he said looking around "is Blair ok"

Click click

Everyone swallowed nervously "is she… still alive" Booth asked dreading the answer and everyone visible held their breath,

Click

Relieved everyone sighed in relief "ok" Booth said "we have contact within the bank, that is good right" Gregson came over and they quickly explained the new situation and he seemed quite relieved to find that they had contact within the bank "the van is nearly here" he said before he looked at the radio "ask her if the hostages are out of the way and if it would be safe for us to raid".

Booth asked his daughter whether the hostages we out of the way to which she responded yes but when he asked if she thought it would be safe for a raid she answered no.

Booth sighed "April" he said "listen if they get mad and things get bad you signal us ok, four clicks understand"

Click

He smiled "good job bud I'll see you soon yes"

Click

He looked around at them all, now all they could do was wait for the van to arrive and see what the robbers wanted them to do next…

XOXO

Blair was struggling to stay awake Tali could see that. Every breath was a battle for her and it sounded rattling and weak to Tali. She kept her hands firmly pressed over the shirt trying to stop the bleeding, resting Blair's head in her lap trying desperately to keep her conscious.

"Tali" Blair whispered weakly and Tali looked down into her green eyes which were filled with pain "why … are you doing this" she whispered. Tali stared at her "doing what" she asked "this" Blair whispered and raised her hand weakly to rest next to Tali's on her stomach "keeping me alive… why are you trying to save me"

Tali stared at her "because I don't want you to die" she whispered. Blair sighed and closed her eyes briefly before opening them again "but if you let me die" she mumbled "you wouldn't have to share our family; you could be the princess of the bullpen again". Tali stared at her "maybe I don't want to be the princess of the bullpen anymore" she said "maybe I want to share our family and the love they give us". Blair looked at her confused "you're weird" she mumbled "tell me about it" Tali said with a smile.

She looked around; the kidnappers had finished emptying the vault now and were talking quietly whilst keeping an eye on the other terrified hostages. After they had hung up on their parents they had thrown April and Livie back over to the others where Tali had seen April slip the earpiece to the radio in and use her hair to cover it, she was sitting at the back of the hostages where the robbers wouldn't notice her. She kept very still, acting as surreptitiously as possible.

Tali looked back down at Blair. "When we get out of this" she whispered "can we call it truce"? Blair looked at her "_if_… I survive this, we can give it a go" she said softly letting out a small sigh with her eyelids drooping.

"Hey" Tali whispered "stay awake Blair" she gently shook her causing the older girl to mumble grumpily "leave me alone DiNozzo I want to sleep" she muttered. "Not yet" Tali whispered "please hang on a bit longer" but Blair wasn't listening and she let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. Knowing she would probably regret this, Tali groaned before she pushed down hard on the bullet wound causing Blair to instantly open her eyes wide and let out a cry glaring at Tali but she was awake again and that was what Tali had intended to get out of that. "Hey shut up" one of the robbers shouted turning his gun on them, Tali held up her hand "she is in pain" she said "please let her go, that way she won't keep crying out"

The leader turned and walked towards her crouching in front of them. He studied Blair before he caught hold of Tali's chin forcing her to look at him "why are you so desperate to save her" he asked "after that shouting match earlier I didn't think you cared for her". Tali stared him straight in the eye "because she saved my life" she said defiantly "so now I am saving hers". He smiled cruelly he placed his hand over Tali's and pushed hard causing Blair to cry out again "get off her" Tali cried pushing him away, he laughed and stood up chuckling to himself as he moved away.

That was when the phone rang and the leader grinned as he moved over to it putting it on speaker **"hello Kate" **he greeted. _"The van has arrived" _Kate said bluntly not bothering to return his greeting **"good" **he praised moving over to the window and cracking the blinds slightly to peer out **"thank you Kate, it looks good from here"**

"_How is Blair" _Kate asked sounding worried **"is that the one I shot… well her stomach hurts" **he said moving over to them and jabbing playfully at Blair with his foot making her cry out again. "Leave her" Tali cried, but he ignored her and did it again jabbing her harder this time so that she screamed in agony. Tali leapt up angrily launching herself at him but she was grabbed again by the other robbers who yanked her away from him and Blair much to Tali's dismay.

"**So Kate" **he continued still crouched next to Blair reaching out to brush hair from her face causing her to pull away angrily and then whimper in pain **"this is the part where you let us go". **_"Really" _Kate said sounding sceptical **"yes" **he said happily **"you are going to let us go as you have done every other time you have tried to catch us, and do you know why you will let us go this time… because I am taking the cop kiddies with me" **

"No" Tali cried fighting "please no leave Blair she wont survive if you take her with you, take me just leave her" she begged. The leader laughed **"well Kate these two certainly are close aren't they" **he moved away from Blair towards Tali **"I will take her with me" **he said **"because then the cops will do what I say knowing they don't have much time". **Tali glared at him before she let out a stream of Hebrew curses at him making him laugh.

"**This is how it is going to go Kate" **he said **"I will let the other hostages go, in return you will let us go, you will park the van round the back, and if I catch sight of anyone then I will blow the cop kiddies brains out do you understand". **_"Yes" _Kate said softly **"good" **he said **"go park the van round the back I will let you know when I am about to release the hostages" **and with that he hung up.

He looked at his accomplices "prepare the building" he said with a smile before looking at Tali still struggling "bind her over there" he said nodding to the other end of the room to where Blair was lying. "No" Tali screamed thrashing "Blair" she cried.

The older girl stirred looking around "Tali" she called out weakly, her voice suddenly afraid. Tali thrashed but they were strong and they yanked her over to a post binding her wrists tightly with flexi cuffs.

Tali watched in horror as they opened one of the bags they had come in with and began to pull out white blocks that she recognised only too well. C4. She looked at April and Livie and saw the horror in their eyes as they stared at her. The leader picked up a block and carried it over to near where Tali was bound. "Please let Blair go" she begged "let the other hostages take her out please" he sighed as he primed the bomb "you really are a broken record aren't you my dear" he said, then a cruel smile slid over his face "she won't be much use though will she" he mused and Tali felt the tiniest bit of hope creep through her. He grinned "I think we will just leave her here" he said

"NO" she screamed fighting "no please no no no" she continued to scream until the leader shouted "will someone gag her" and one of his accomplices came over and shoved a rag into her mouth. She continued to scream past it sobbing frantically.

Over in the corner April was frantically signalling clicking the button four times. _"April"_ he dad said _"what is it is Blair ok"_ hurriedly she began Morse code; the same letter and number over and over again as she watched the robbers coming over "on your feet" he snapped.

Everyone was scrambling up and April was following them towards the others when suddenly she was grabbed from behind as an arm wrapped around her neck. She struggled frantically as she felt his hand grope around before he grabbed the radio and yanked the earphone out of her ear. She froze breathing heavily and saw Tali staring at her in horror. Then she felt herself get yanked round as he grabbed her throat "what's this honey" he crooned and he yanked the headphone out and they could hear her father shouting _"April, April what's going on April" _

"You little…" he was so mad he struck her hard sending her falling to the ground, April rolled over in time to hear a gasp and saw Livie get thrown to the ground beside her. "No" she shouted "Livie had nothing to do with it I swear it was all me". He glared at her "you know honey I don't believe you, I think that it was a team job". "No" she whispered, he struck her hard again and she spun round spitting out a mouthful of blood as he stood over them glaring angrily at them "you know what my friends" he said looking at his companions "I think we shall have some more company on our little trip"

April stared in fear looking over at Livie whose eyes were wide with terror as he stood over them. "Bind them with the other one" he ordered and they were yanked over to Tali and bound like her. Then he bent studying them before he looked at the TV and he frowned.

"Well would you look at that" he breathed and they both looked over to see that Livie's mom was on the screen standing next to Rick who had Alexis. They were all staring at Booth who was talking frantically into the microphone. He grabbed hold of Livie and studied her before a triumphant smile spread across his face. "Well well well" he said "nice to meet you Kate Beckett's daughter". Then he struck Livie hard and she fell to the floor where her head smacked against the stone and she blacked out.

**Haha hope you liked it :P**

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**xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi again thanks for all the reviews, hope you are enjoying this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hope you like this chapter.**

Chapter 9

Kate stood staring at Booth as he called frantically into the radio, calling desperately for his daughter to respond, but she didn't. She had signed that something was going on inside and then had started with Morse code but before they could decipher it she had stopped and they hadn't heard anything since. Tony was standing with his arm around Ziva the two of them looked shocked and terrified; they knew their daughter was being taken as leverage and they were petrified.

The phone rang and they all moved towards it and Kate grabbed it _"hello" _she demanded **"hello Kate the hostages are coming out so don't shoot" **and he hung up. Kate turned "hostages coming out" she shouted "don't shoot"

She ran forward watching as the doors opened and hostages come running out. Gregson was shouting and ushering them towards the command tent away from the press and cameras. Kate stared frantically looking around scanning every face desperately. Then she whirled round to see Rick, Alexis, Brennan and Booth all looking around frantically too but there was no sign of their daughters.

Then through the radio came a chuckle that made them all freeze in horror **"sorry to keep you from your daughter a little longer Kate but I discovered that she is your daughter and well I want to spend more time with her and I'll keep her plucky little friend too". **Kate gave a cry of horror and instantly she was running towards the back door where they had left the van sprinting frantically sensing the others give chase. She ducked under the line forcing her way through the people and round the corner where she froze in shock.

There were the robbers still in their masks yanking their hostages out of the back door. April fighting angrily followed by Tali who was barely awake, fighting feebly and then Livie who struggled frantically as blood streamed down her face. She looked up then and saw her mother standing at the edge of the ally.

"Stop… police" Kate shouted yanking her gun out of her holster at the same time one of the robbers spotted her and raised his own gun open firing causing her to dive back and the others to skid to a stop yanking out their weapons. "They have Livie Tali and April" Kate cried peering round before she leapt back as more bullets buried itself into the wall against which she was leaning against. "You shouldn't be trying to save them Kate" the leader shouted and she peered round to see him standing with a gun jammed against Livie's head using her as a shield. Livie was staring at her mother, her eyes wide with terror.

"Let them go" Kate shouted trying to find a clean shot "take the money and let them go". "I don't think so Kate" he shouted back "you see they lied to me, they said they weren't cop kids and I don't like it when people lie to me and I want something else from you Kate and you are going to give it to me otherwise you will never see your gorgeous little girl again"

"Leave her alone" Kate screamed "leave them all alone" he gave a cruel laugh. "Seriously you shouldn't be worrying about them right now Kate it is the other one you should be worried about what was her name again… oh yes… Blair that was it"

Kate looked over at the NCIS team all standing there eyes wide. "What did you do to her" Gibbs shouted and he laughed again "I left her there" he said "so feel free to go get her though it might be getting a bit hot in there in a minute"

"Mom there's C4" Livie screamed "the bank is loaded with C4". The leader let out a laugh "choose quickly Kate" he shouted "you can save the girl and get these three back once you have done as I have asked or you can get these three and let the other girl die"

Kate stared at the others in terror before she heard Livie scream "rescue Blair mom please rescue her". She heard a crash and then the sound of the door slamming shut. "No" she cried as the van came skidding out of the ally past them, they all raised their weapons firing frantically but it was soon too far out of range.

Instantly realising they didn't have long left they ran round the side of the building to the main entrance shouting and screaming at people to get back.

Ziva was shoving some reporters away from the bank when she felt someone shove past her and she looked over to see McGee sprinting towards the bank his face set in grim determination. "McGee" she screamed "no". She saw Tony look up and then he was running towards McGee and he slammed into him at exactly the same time the bomb went off.

As the windows exploded sending glass flying everywhere Ziva felt Gibbs grab her yanking her backwards shielding her as glass shards were flung towards them. She felt them slice through her arms as they were thrown back off their feet. Gasping she covered her head until all went silent. She sat up winded looking around; all around her people were staggering upright looking shocked and dazed. She heard a groan and saw Tony sitting up, instantly he looked over at her frantically and she nodded to show that she was ok and he returned the gesture.

They heard a moan and saw McGee staggering to his feet staring at the burning building in horror. Then he broke into a stumbling run towards the building, "McGee NO" Gibbs shouted but his agent didn't listen to him. Tony leapt up and ran after him shouting then before he could stop him Tim leapt into the burning building.

Ziva and Gibbs leapt up shouting and they saw Tony skid to a stop swearing before he looked over his shoulder at them then he took a deep breath and leapt into the bank after McGee.

"No Tony" Ziva cried panicked, rushing forward but Gibbs caught hold of her "Ziver" he shouted "no you are not going in there". "Tony" she cried "and Tim… and Blair, Gibbs we have to help them" "Ziva you going in there is not going to help ok there are already way to many of the people I care about in there and I am not adding you to that list"

Ziva stared at him in fear before they both turned to look at the bank and she stared at it trembling, desperate to see her husband, friend and his daughter emerge.

XO

Blair knew that something was seriously the moment she saw the white blocks being pulled out, she was worried about it but there was nothing she could do, especially with the robbers all around. She had watched in horror as they had discovered Livie and April smuggling information out. Then they had let the other hostages go before they had dragged her three friends out, Tali had been screaming and fighting so bad they had struck her hard over the head almost knocking her out.

Then they had left Blair lying there struggling to stop her own blood forcing its way out.

Gasping in pain she looked around at all the white blocks dotted around the bank, if she stayed here she wouldn't survive the blast she knew that. She looked around weakly before spotting the stone counter behind which all the money was kept. She knew that was her most likely chance of survival.

She slowly began to move twisting her body gently before she rolled onto her stomach sharply instantly letting out a scream of pain as she rolled over the bullet wound. She reached out and hauled herself an arms length closer to the counter before she stopped gasping in pain. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks "come on" she moaned to herself and reached out again and pulled herself along painfully aware of the amount of time ticking by so she focused solely on her task.

Reach. Pull… Reach. Pull

That was all she thought for the next few minutes as she hauled herself towards the counter, staring at it determinedly trying to ignore the pain which felt like a fire in her belly. After what felt like an eternity of no progress she reached the edge at the same time she heard gunshots from outside. Knowing that couldn't be good she grabbed the edge of the counter and managed to haul herself round. She heard a click followed by a beep and she flung herself forward those last few feet diving under the counter and curling herself up at the same time the bomb exploded.

At first there was nothing, then from behind her closed eyelids she saw a bright flash and then there was a deafening boom and she felt the whole building shake as everything got hot. She felt a severe burning sensation and debris rain down around her and she covered her head squeezing her eyes shut even tighter waiting for it all to end.

When all was quiet she slowly opened her eyes looking around the wrecked building. The ceiling was falling down, pipes and wires lay littered around her and the air was thick with smoke, and to her horror she realised the building was on fire.

She heard shouting through the fog and recognised someone calling her name. Instantly she tried to move but found she couldn't. Looking down she discovered that her legs were pinned heavily by a piece of roof. She tried to call out but the smoke was too thick; coughing she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and looked around, then she flung herself as far as she could stretching out to grab a piece of pipe. Panting heavily she reached out and banged it hard against an upturned filing cabinet and she heard it make a loud clanging sound.

She heard someone shout her name again and coughing hard she frantically banged her pipe against the cabinet again. With each time she pounded at it she felt more and more of her strength ebb away and she slumped to the ground still coughing weakly feeling hot blood trickle down her side. She heard the shouting getting louder and she sighed closing her eyes unable to cling to consciousness any more.

XO

The heat inside the building was immense and nearly knocked Tony back as he leapt in and the roar of the flames nearly deafened him. Instantly he raised his arm to cover his mouth and nose as he looked around; the heat stinging at his eyes. He spotted McGee standing a few feet away coughing as he looked around, in between coughs he shouted out his daughter's name frantically. Tony moved over to him; "come on" he shouted grabbing his arm and he yanked him down lower to the ground where the air was cleaner. He joined McGee shouting the teenager's name as they moved around searching frantically. Tony knew they didn't have long before this whole building was destroyed; he knew McGee wasn't going to leave without Blair but if it came to that he would get McGee out, though he knew he would never be forgiven. So he pressed on, hunting for the girl.

Then he spotted something on an area of less scorched floor, blood and a lot of it. Swallowing he looked over and saw Tim staring at it in shock and pain, then Tony saw a trail and he slowly rose following it but it was hard given parts of it had been destroyed and there were things in their way.

Just then they heard a loud clang that made them both look up "Blair" McGee shouted frantically before he began to cough. Tony looked around and kept his mouth covered as another clang echoed around. The two of them moved off following it as it got louder and they picked their way hurriedly around the flames towards the main desk with a stone front.

Another clang sounded as they both called out to Blair again then there was a clatter as something was dropped and they both rushed round where they stopped and stared.

Blair was lying on her side curled in a foetal position, her whole body wracking with coughs as she choked over the smoke. One hand was extended towards a pipe lying next to a cabinet that lay on its side, her other hand was lying over her stomach from which blood was leaking out of from between her fingers. Her eyes were closed and her legs pinned by a piece of roof.

"Blair oh god" Tim cried instantly leaping towards her and grabbed at the piece of ceiling pinning her down yanking at it frantically. Tony hurried forward and caught hold of it, the two of them strained grunting as they lifted before they managed to lift the debris off of Blair and throw it clear, before Tim was turning and falling to the ground beside her catching hold of her face, cupping her cheeks. "Hey Blair wake up open your eyes" he begged. Coughing Tony crouched next to him feeling his stomach clench as he looked at the wound on the girl's stomach.

Blair let out a moan then and her eyelids fluttered groggily "let me sleep DiNozzo" she muttered before she blinked and spotted them crouched next to her "seriously people I want to sleep" she mumbled staring at them before she looked up and spotted her father crouched over her. "Dad" she whispered "you came for me", Tim stared at her "of course I did" he whispered "You're my daughter". She stared at him before she coughed weakly "I don't feel so good dad" she mumbled. Tim looked at Tony who pressed his hand over the wound causing Blair to cry out in pain and then cough, her whole body shuddering, then a whimper slipped through her clenched teeth as she fought to hide her pain.

Tony looked up and around wondering what the best way to get Blair out was. Then he heard a groan from above and looked up to see cracks in the roof and realised they didn't have time.

"Blair" he said "listen to me, we have to move you now and it is going to hurt but you need to lie as still as possible do you understand, do not move". Tim looked at him in confusion as they positioned themselves on either side of her. "If the bullet is lodged near her spine and we shift it she may never walk again" Tony said quietly "try to keep her as still as you can ok". Tim nodded as they both prepared themselves.

There was another groan from above and the cracks in the ceiling deepened. "Move now" Tony shouted and they lifted Blair hurriedly lifting her sideways as she screamed in agony her fingernails digging into their shoulders as she gripped them.

With both hands holding onto Blair, trying to keep her stable, they had nothing to cover their mouths so as they staggered through the building Tony could feel the smoke burning his throat and lungs. Eyes watering he searched for the exit, "come on" he muttered before he spotted the light "this way" he shouted jerking his head before they staggered forward Blair still crying out in pain.

Tony heard crashes from behind as the roof caved in but he didn't look back, he just kept his eyes on the light as he carried Blair forward with McGee right beside him.

Closer and closer the light got until finally they staggered out, out of the smoke and flames and into the light and fresh soothing air.

XO

Smoke was pouring out of the building, they could see the glow of the flames from inside and even from as far back as they were standing Ziva and Gibbs could feel the heat. Ziva stared at the door trembling in terror as she brought her clenched fists up to her mouth. "Come on" she whispered "please come on" she looked at Gibbs who was staring at the door too, though he was muttering a string of curses at his two agents.

Ziva let out a moan and looked back "I have to help them" she cried desperately and leapt forward but Gibbs grabbed hold of her wrists. "No Ziva" he shouted "Gibbs my husband and friend they are in there, and Blair" she begged "I have to help them". "No Ziva" he said again yanking her round to look at him "think of Tali… and Aiden, you can't go in there, you need to be there for your children" "Tony needs to be there too" she sobbed feeling tears trickle down her cheeks and Gibbs pulled her into his arms holding her tight.

Just then there was a shout from behind and they both looked up in time to see Tony and McGee come staggering out of the building coughing heavily, and carried between them clinging to them as they clung to her was Blair.

Ziva leapt away from Gibbs running towards them sensing him give chase shouting to the paramedics. "Tony" she gasped rushing over as he looked up at her, his face blackened with ash "hey Zee" he rasped and he staggered. Gibbs hurriedly moved over and caught hold of Blair taking her from his two agents as they both bent over coughing. Ziva caught hold of Tony as he staggered groaning with his hand over his chest, looking over she saw Booth catch hold of McGee. She looked over to see Blair coughing weakly in Gibbs arms as she looked up at him "hey Gibbs" she gasped, he let out a groan and pressed a kiss to her forehead "god you have had us worried" he murmured.

The paramedics came rushing over and Gibbs lay Blair on the gurney at the same time an old Morgan car pulled up and Ducky, Palmer and Abby leapt out and Abby rushed over to McGee who was bent over wheezing. "Timmy" she gasped "we got here as soon as we could, Gibbs wouldn't let us come down, said it was bad enough as it was down here without the rest but we couldn't stay away, oh gosh what happened, Gibbs wouldn't tell me anything except that the girls had gotten themselves in a hostage situation, Timmy are they ok"

Tim looked up at her gasping before he pointed to Gibbs and she spun round and her eyes fell on Blair on the gurney, mask over her mouth and nose, breathing heavily covered in blood. "Oh god Blair" she cried running over, Blair looked up at her weakly through half closed eyes and mumbled weakly before her hand moved out to touch Abby's patting it in an almost reassuring way.

Ziva steered Tony over to a second gurney encouraging him to sit next to McGee and to take the oxygen mask, for a moment the two of them just sat there breathing in the pure oxygen gratefully. McGee was staring at Blair who weakly rolled her head over to look at him staring at him uncertainly, her eyes worried. Then she looked at Gibbs as he gently began to speak to her reassuringly.

Ziva looked back at Tony before she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly; he gave a sigh as he wrapped his free arm around her hugging her against him.

"Thank god you are ok" she whispered looking up into his eyes, he smiled weakly at her as he moved the mask away from his mouth and nose "one down three to go" he murmured. Ziva bit her lip and leaned against him briefly, "Zee" he murmured and slowly she looked back into his greenie eyes "we will find her" he said softly "no matter how long it takes we will find her and she will be ok", she looked at him seeing the determination on his face and she dropped her gaze wishing she could feel the same way.

As Blair lay on the gurney she grabbed hold of the first hand she found squeezing it tightly, it helped her deal with the pain. She looked up eventually and her eyes met Gibbs' bright blue ones as the paramedics moved hurriedly around her, packing her wound to try stop the bleeding to no avail.

The young paramedic looked up at Gibbs, sensing he was the one that held authority. "We need to take her now, we can't stop the bleeding." He nodded, his face grim as he stared at her. His expression softened as he looked back down at Blair. "You'll be alright Flicka, don't worry ok, we'll all be there when you wake up, ok." The teenager didn't reply but she gave a half smile in return. When they lifted her into the ambulance she fought the feeling of a slight panic when no one seemed to get in with her. Her eyes darted around as much as it would allow her.

Just as one of the paramedics went to shut the door, Tim leapt up into the ambulance, followed by Abby who moved over to sit on the bench near her head. Tim reached out for her hand as they pulled away and were driven quickly in the direction of the hospital, siren blearing loudly.

Eventually they reached the hospital's entrance and Blair was forced to let go of the hand she was gripping tightly, but before the team of doctors crowded round her she weakly reached up with her hand and removed the oxygen mask. "Tali" she murmured weakly and Tim and Abby shared a look, "She's fine ok, just worry about yourself Blair." Tim told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead before she was pulled away into the hospital, and the doctors that had met them at the entrance began moving her quickly in the direction of the OR.

One of the doctors stayed behind to inform Tim and Abby on what was happening with Blair. "Is she going to be ok?" Abby asked worriedly and the doctor kept his face expressionless as he answered, "I'm going to be honest with you. Because she did not receive medical attention straight away, so there is a higher risk of infection, but there is a 50-50 chance of her coming out of this alright". Tim nodded, hardly hearing the words and moved away towards the hospitals waiting room, to wait on any information about his daughter's condition. Abby joined him soon after, having questioned the doctor on a few more things.

"She'll be fine. This is Blair we're talking about." Abby started a few minutes later, hoping to cheer McGee up slightly, "Yeah." He murmured, not giving to much thought to it. "They said that the bullet probably didn't hit the spine. That's another good thing." She told him and he looked up from his stare at the floor. "Really?" He asked her and she nodded, smiling slightly at the hopeful look plastered across McGee's face. "Yep. She is going to be fine. And one of the surgeons is going to come out when they know a bit more." She said not thinking of the negative results from Blair's injuries. They quickly returned back to their silence, each lost in their own, but similar thoughts.

Another family came in and sat down on the opposite side of the room. They were young, possibly only in their early 20's, but the woman held a baby close to her, clinging to them desperately as her body wracked with sobs. The husband had an arm wrapped around his wife, holding her tightly against him. Despite the fact neither Abby nor Tim knew the reason of them being there, they both knew that whatever it had been, they were close to losing someone they loved. Looking back at each other, Tim almost gratefully wrapped Abby in a hug, in which she returned back. And they sat there together, awaiting any news about Blair's condition.

**Haha one down three to go :P hope you enjoyed that. Please let us know, we love hearing what you think**

**Thanks **

**xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi everyone, thanks for the reviews, would really appreciate some more. Hope you like this chapter.**

Chapter 10

When Tali woke up she knew things were different and not in a good way. She blinked groggily and lifted her head mumbling as she shifted uncomfortably; slowly she assessed their new situation uncertainly.  
She was sitting with her arms bound tightly behind her back with flexi cuffs binding her to the bars of a small cell in which she was imprisoned in. She shifted feeling the gag digging into the corners of her mouth as she tugged weakly at her bonds. She heard movement and turned her head to see April and Livie bound similarly to her on two of the other walls of the cell. She looked at them concerned and they nodded at her, though their eyes were worried and scared.

She heard a bang and looked over as a door open and one of the robbers came in unmasked holding their radio and with a sickening feeling in her stomach she realised that he was the leader and he was talking to Kate.  
**"They are fine Kate"** he said peering through the bars at them **"I am looking at them now, the NCIS brat has finally woken up, about time too"**. Kate's voice came through the radio sounding worried "_I want proof of life you asshole"_

He chuckled before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of keys. He unlocked the door and moved in heading straight to Livie crouching in front of her and yanking the gag from her mouth, Livie turned away trembling closing her eyes as he leaned in close "talk to mommy pretty little one" he breathed. Fighting back a sob Livie looked at Tali and April before she shakily called out _**"mom" **_

They heard a gasp before Kate was calling _"Livie … honey are you ok, are April and Tali ok" __**"we are ok mom" **_Livie mumbled staring up at the robber now crouched over her _**"they… haven't done anything to us yet". **__"Ok hang on honey I promise we will find you soon ok… I love you Livs" __**"love you too mom" **_Livie whispered as he pulled the radio away

"**Well there you go Kate" **he said as he re-gagged Livie and stood up and moved out of the cell locking it behind him as he leaned against the bars watching them. **"They are all fine, I haven't hurt them, and I won't as long as you give me what I want"**

"_What is it that you want" _Kate asked her voice filled with hate, he smiled

"**The same as last time Kate" **he said **"an escape… but this time I want a more permanent one, my colleagues and I have counted our money and we feel that we have enough to keep ourselves set for a good long while so we want a life to live with all that money"**

"_What" _Kate said confused _"how… you want us to give you new identities" _

"**Yes Kate" **he said moving round the outside of the cell which was set in the middle of the room **"but not just one, I want at least 100 identities, ones that cannot be traced, you can't go noting them down so you can catch us some other time, I want 100 totally random identities that will ensure that my colleagues and I will never get caught, do you think that is possible Kate… and think carefully before you answer"**

He smiled as he bent behind Livie stroking her cheek gently; she pulled away but was bound to tightly to be able to escape him. She looked away her face angry but her eyes upset. Kate was quiet on the other end before she slowly said _"we might be able to get some for you, using contacts at the FBI" _

"**Good girl Kate" **he praised rising and moving away from Livie **"thinking hard… I suggest you get onto that whilst I think of a good place to make an exchange, you have until tomorrow morning do you understand, at first light I will contact you again and depending on whether or not you have my goods we can think about an exchange"**

"_Fine" _Kate said angrily and he laughed **"talk to you soon Kate" **he said before he switched the radio off and looked at the three of them bound to separate walls. "Comfortable my dears" he asked; they all glared at him making him laugh, then he slowly walked behind April crouching next to her reaching in to pull the gag out of her mouth.

"You lied to me sweetheart" he breathed "you are a cop kid" "technically I didn't" April said staring straight ahead "my mom is a forensic anthropologist, you can look her up, Temperance Brennan is her name and my dad does work with her, I just didn't mention that he works for the FBI" he growled at her angrily before he looked at Livie whose eyes were wide. "You lied about her parents" he breathed "no" April said turning to look at him "her dad is an author" he grabbed her throat choking her making her gasp, both Tali and Livie screamed through their gags. "But her mother isn't a lawyer" he snarled in her ear "she is a cop, the very same cop which has been chasing me since New York"

April choked kicking her legs as he throttled her. He gripped her throat with an angry snarl on his face, then slowly he loosened his grip before he released her. April instantly sagged forwards sucking in a great lungful of air in relief looking up at Livie and Tali who stared at her desperately.

Slowly the leader moved round the cage and yanked the gags out of each of their mouths studying them all before he looked at Tali. "So" he said leaning back against the wall "Talia Kaitlyn DiNozzo you are a fascinating child" Tali stared at him "well glad I amuse you" she said dryly he smiled "I didn't think much of you until I heard your mother call you something, what was it now, something in a different language"

"Aheva" Tali said shortly "yes that was it" he said smiling "then you started cussing me and I realised it was Hebrew, I wondered why a sweet child of your age would be fluent in Hebrew until I remembered that your mother was fluent too, I looked up your name and that is when I discovered that your mother is the only surviving child of the director of Mossad in Israel"

Tali didn't respond to him, she just looked at him coldly as he smiled at her. "So you are the granddaughter of the director of Mossad" he murmured peering at her "well well well". "Don't think you can use it as a weapon" Tali said shortly "Director David disowned my mother when she became pregnant with me and he tried to kill me so I don't think it will get you anything". He laughed loudly "shame" he said moving round to crouch next to her "that would have made your life so much more worthwhile to me" he whispered in her ear "bare that in mind for the next time you decide to try and pull a little stunt because your little friend isn't here to save you anymore"

Tali dropped her head blinking back tears and he chuckled at her before he straightened up and moved over to a desk where he picked up a purse which they recognised as Livie's. He smiled as he opened it emptying it of the money before he smiled "aw" he said pulling out a picture of a dappled grey horse "is this your pony sweetheart, did daddy buy it for you" Livie ducked her head and they could see her struggling to stay in control. "Ah" he said pulling out another photo and turning it so they could all see the picture of Livie and her family "look it's mommy and daddy and … well who's that" he asked and he tapped the frozen image of Alexis a gleam in his eyes. Livie stared at him in terror and he grinned "who is that honey, is she your sister sweetheart, aw isn't she a pretty one hmm"

He studied the picture with a smile on his face before he looked up and smiled at them in a cruel evil way that made their stomachs clench, then still smiling he moved out of the room slamming the door shut behind him.

Instantly Tali looked at her two friends "you guys ok" she asked softly, slowly they both nodded "are you" April asked "you were out for hours Tali, we were getting worried", Tali smiled weakly "I'm fine" she mumbled "head hurts a bit but I'm shiny otherwise". April raised her eyebrows "so the blood dribbling from a massive cut on your head is what … just a bit of decoration" Tali smiled again "yep" she said softly "seriously Tali you could have a concussion" Livie whispered "I'll be fine" Tali said "seriously I have been through worse ok, I have survived worse than a bump on the head, trust me guys this is nothing"

They both looked at each other before they looked back at her, their eyes still worried. Tali smiled at them before she looked away weakly resting her head back, in truth she did hurt; her head was pounding and the marks from her beatings ached and throbbed. She sighed before looking back at her friends who had both dropped their heads, trying to hide the fear they felt. Tali looked at them before she looked dropped her head too; she felt a small tremble ripple through her body, she was scared too, for herself and her friends yes, but also and mostly for Blair. She didn't know if she was ok or not and she was terrified of not knowing. So she waited, waited for this all to end, trying not to let her fears consume her because she knew that if they had any chance of getting out of this, she needed to keep her head on straight.

XOX

It was several hours later when one of the surgeons that was on Blair's case came out to speak to Tim and Abby. As he stood up to greet the doctor he felt Abby slip her hand into his, squeezing it reassuringly. It was hard to tell what the man was about to tell them due to the emotionless expression on his face, and McGee suddenly found himself feeling rather sick with worry.

"Are you here for Miss Blair McGee?" He asked and Tim nodded, swallowing slowly. "We manage to fix the damage made by the bullet. She was lucky that it missed her spine, there was a large amount of internal bleeding and she lost a lot of blood. We've taken her up to the ICU for now, but if preferred we can move her to a private room." Tim nodded again, the dreaded feeling of Blair not being okay leaving him slightly. "When will she wake up?" he asked and the doctor gave a half smile, "It all depends." At his confused face he continued on, "When the anaesthetic wears off, her body may let her rest for a bit longer. Or she may come around straight away." Tim was caught off guard as Abby suddenly engulfed him in a hug, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"I take it that it's good news?" They heard someone ask and they pulled away, looking over to see both Ducky and Palmer come in through the double door entrance. As soon as she saw them Abby ran over, hugging both of them before relaying the news on Blair. Looking away from Abby for a moment, McGee nodded at the doctor, "Can I see her?" He asked. "Yes, I'll take you up to her now if you'd like." He said and McGee called Abby, Ducky and Palmer back over, letting them know they were able to up and see Blair.

As soon as Tim saw his daughter, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. The sight of Blair lying in a hospital bed was almost too much. But he couldn't leave her; she needed him, more then ever. So slowly walking forward, trying not to think too much about how bad she looked he moved over, sitting in the chair by the bed. He'd chosen to move her into a private room, not wanting to stress her when she woke up. He glanced up to see Abby pull a chair over so she was seated next to him; Ducky and Palmer taking the small couch over by the opposite wall. Considering what she'd just been through, it was amazing how relaxed she looked, although that was caused by the anaesthetic, it allowed McGee some peace of mind as he sat at her side, waiting for her to wake up.

X

It was another few hours before she started to come around. Blinking slowly and heavily trying to let her eyes adjust to the light. "Blair?" Tim murmured, moving forward in his seat to hold her hand. She gripped it tightly, before it lightened and her eyes closed again. "Blair" he said again and Abby looked up from where she'd been staring at her hands. Ducky made his way over, and Palmer hurried from the room, saying he was going for a doctor. It wasn't long before her eyelids fluttered open again, this time staying open as she looked up with wide eyes, before they drifted over towards where McGee and Abby sat.

She went to move herself into a sitting position, wincing when she found she couldn't. "Blair, you need to stay still, okay?" Tim told her, cautiously. Not sure on what she'd remembered. But it wasn't long before they found out. "T-Tali?" She stuttered and they all shared a look. "Tali's fine Blair, you saved her, she… can't wait to see you." McGee lied weakly. She looked at Abby for confirmation, a confused look on her face, and Abby nodded. "Do you remember?" She asked softly and Blair shook her head slightly, before glancing down at her stomach as Palmer re-entered, one of the doctors and nurses coming in after him.

The doctor smiled at Blair, passing the clipboard to the nurse before asking her a few basic questions, making sure Blair knew where and who she was. "Are you in any pain?" He asked. "No." Blair muttered quietly, looking away and clenching her jaw. "Blair, you don't have to lie about it, being in pain isn't going to make you seem weak." Tim told her and she tightened the grip she had on his hand, confirming his suspicions. "I don't need anything strong." She protested weakly biting her lip to keep her from drifting back to sleep as a clear liquid was injected into her IV. She glanced up startled as McGee's phone rang out, and he stood, after managing to let go of Blair's hand and moving into the corner of the room to answer it. Looking back to see Abby had taken his place.

He listened intently before noticing the doctor and nurse leave the room, shutting the door softly behind them.

After speaking with Ziva for a few minutes he hung up, and moved over to the other side, picking up the remote for the small TV that was up on the wall, turning it on, and found it went straight to the channel he was after. Abby gave him a confused look as a shot of the bank, now in ruins was shown on the screen before returning back to the news reporter. Blair's eyes widened and she let out a gasp, keeping Abby's hand in a vice like grip, she continued to look up at the reporter who was know reeling off the facts they knew about the robbery.

It was when she got to her that surprised Blair the most, "_We recently found out that one of the hostages, a teenage daughter of an NCIS agent was killed in the explosion after being shot fatally before the building was blown up as the robbers exited the scene through a back entrance. Our hearts go out to the friends and family of Blair Rosa McGee."_

It was Blair who spoke first, "What?" Was all she got out, before she went back to biting her lip. But her attention was drawn back to the small screen before anyone could respond, "_We also know that the three other cop children who were in the building are still being held hostage at a second unknown location." _

Tim quickly turned it off as Blair let out a wail. "No, no no no no." McGee found himself lost for words, hating seeing how distraught his daughter had gotten over the news that Tali was still missing. Ducky and Palmer excused themselves, wanting to give them a bit of space, not wanting to overcrowd Blair. Tim cast a worried look at Abby, who shot one straight back at him. "You said Tali was okay. You said she was fine. You lied." Blair cried, staring at McGee with a hurt look on her face that crushed McGee.

"Hey, hey Blair. Tali's gonna be fine, she's going to be okay. And before you know it she'll be here to see you." Abby tried, hoping to comfort her. "You don't know that. She might be dead." Blair sobbed, refusing to see the light of the situation. "You know what Tali's like Blair, she's going to be fine." Abby said softly, feeling Blair re-adjust her grip on her hand. "But what if she's not. Everyone will hate me." Tim continued to stare at his hysterical daughter, still shocked at how much her view on Tali had changed. Not being able to offer any more sense of comfort by talking, Abby changed her hold on Blair, moving to sit up next to her on the bed, wrapping her arms around her, making sure she was careful not to touch any where near where the bullet had hit.

Not wanting to make anything any more worse then it already was, Tim exited the room, leaning against the door as he shut it, still able to hear Blair's cries from where he stood. One of the passing nurses stopped looking towards the room in a concerned manner. "Is everything okay in there?" She asked, and he nodded. "Yeah. She just got some bad news." The nurse nodded sceptically, but sensing McGee wasn't going to move out of the way, she continued on to another patient's room.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing in the number for Gibbs, and just as he was about to make the call he looked up to see him standing right in front of him, "No need McGee." He said and after hearing one of the teenager's wails, gave him a pointed look, "Why aren't you in there with her. She needs you right now." McGee shook his head, "Abby's in there with her, I can't stand seeing her like that Boss." Gibbs' nodded, understanding his reason before motioning for him to take a seat in one of the hallway chairs before he opened the door slowly, making his way in and closing it softly.

Blair's head shot up from where she was in Abby's arms, a hopeful look plastered across her face. As if she expected Tali to magically appear and walk through the door. "Tali?" She whispered, before seeing it wasn't the younger girl and burying her face into Abby's shoulder, her body wracking with sobs as Abby rubbed her back comfortingly, looking up at Gibbs worriedly.

He moved forward, going round to the opposite side to Abby and sitting himself next to the teenager who didn't move from where she was clinging onto Abby. "It's my fault," she cried into the Goth's shoulder, "I should have stopped them from going into the bank." She let out a few choking breaths before giving another painful cry. "Shhhhhh Blair, shhhh." Abby tried, speaking softly, before murmuring other words of comfort, but Blair showed no signs of calming down. "I told them it was a bad idea, and they didn't listen." She sobbed and Gibbs had a try, "See Blair, it wasn't your fault. None of this was." She shook her head, still not looking up, "I should have tried harder, and I didn't. It_ is_ my fault. If Tali dies, it'll be _my_ fault."

Abby gave Gibbs a pleading look, "Blair, listen to me. It is not your fault. Tali isn't going to die." He said, with a slight edge to his voice but still keeping it comforting, not wanting to make the teenager any worse. "I wish she hadn't tried to save me. I wish she'd just left me." Blair cried, causing both Gibbs and Abby to pause. "Blair?" Abby asked quietly, and she gave another piercing cry, "I wish she'd just left me to die." She spoke quietly, through her cries. Her breathing quickening and becoming more uneven as Gibbs noticed the tears spring in Abby's eyes.

"Blair." Gibbs started softly, "Look at me," he continued, waiting for the teenager to turn her head so she was facing him. Eventually she turned away from Abby and looked up at him forlornly. "We got a proof of life call earlier today. She's fine Blair." She bit her lip, still unable to stop the tears that were still flowing freely. "But..." She started quietly, before Abby cut her off, "Before you know it she'll be here Blair." She nodded, leaning against Abby, who was more then happy to hold her against herself.

Gibbs thought for a moment, he'd been needing to ask Blair a few questions, to try and get more of a feel of the robbers, but now after seeing how distraught Blair had been over Tali he was having to rethink his tactics.

"Blair?" He asked and she glanced up at him, still chewing on her lip uncertainly. "Do you remember anything about this morning?" He questioned softly, she shook her head before replying, "No... Not... Really. All I remember is them running into the bank and me and... Livie following... Then the robbers came in and they shot the guard... Then they found out one of us were the cop kids... And Tali..." She let out a sob, and it was almost like the cycle repeated it's self. "Blair, shhh." Abby murmured, and a few moments later the teenager continued on, "She said she was the cop kid and I did to... I don't know why I did that..."

As she went on with recalling the robbery, more memories came back and she found herself knowing more then she had a few minutes ago. "Then we fought. That's where the scratches are from... It wasn't real though... We did it so... April could get the radio..." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "That's when they went to shoot Tali and I got in the way... They shot me... I knew I couldn't let her die. Everyone likes Tali more then me. The last thing I remember is the explosion and having to drag myself over to get under the desk..." She finished, yawning. Gibbs smiled slightly, "Get some sleep Flicka, you need it, we'll have Tali back before you know it okay kiddo?"

She nodded in response, and moved into a more comfortable position. "Oh and Blair" Gibbs said softly and she looked up at him as be bent to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead "don't you ever think that we like Tali any more than you again ok. We all love you just as much as we love her, you got that"? Blair looked at him for a moment before she nodded and settled down as her eyelids began to droop. Before leaving Gibbs cast a look at Abby, "Stay with her." He told her and the forensic scientist nodded as he left, closing the door behind him. As she looked down at Blair, who was cuddled up against her, she herself smiled at the teenager who'd instantly fallen asleep.

XO

Kate sat listening to Booth arguing angrily with his supervisor on the phone waiting for Gibbs to return from the hospital with news on Blair. After Ziva had called McGee to inform him of what they had done and she had learned that Blair was awake Gibbs had instantly decided to head down to see Blair and check that she was ok and obviously fill Abby and McGee in with their plan.

They had been desperate, these robbers were smart and they had the upper hand over them and they were struggling to keep up with them, they hadn't known what to do. It had been Ziva's idea to fake a death saying that is was a much used tactic with Mossad, used to make the enemies think they were winning, then strike them whilst they were over confident. At first they had been planning to say it had been McGee or Tony who had died in the fire, but then Sweets had appeared and told them to say it was Blair. He told them to use Blair because it was more personal to the robbers; the leader had shot Blair and if he learned that she had died by his hand it would make him feel that he personally had gained the upper hand, that he had beat the cops who had been chasing him for so long.

They had been unwilling at first, to use the already hurt girl to get to these robbers, but soon they had come to realise that it was their only chance to really get an advantage over the robbers because if the robbers thought they were broken and struggling, there was more of a chance that they might slip…

"Come on" Booth said and Kate looked up at him to find him pacing "we need this, otherwise we will never see our kids again" he paused to listen before his face got mad "hey don't you go saying that it is our kids' fault that they got into that mess, they could have chosen anyone to take with them for leverage, they just knew that taking three available cop kids was the most sensible thing to do…. No I am not calling them sensible … listen please can you give us the resources to make the identities, we are not going to let them get away with this… they shot a cop kid… come on this is our only chance"

He paused again listening before his expression got even darker "well thanks Hacker, you probably sentenced those kids to death too" and with that he hung up angrily muttering a stream of abuse at his boss before looking around. "He won't let us have the resources" he said "he doesn't want to risk these guys getting away with this and disappearing forever"

"But they could just disappear forever anyway" Kate exclaimed "at least at the exchange we have a chance to catch them, if we don't get that exchange sorted then we will never see them again, or the girls". Booth looked at her tiredly, he knew that, and there was nothing he could do.

"Where else are we going to find 100 clean identities" Ziva asked from where she was sitting on the sofa next to Tony who was looking rather worse for wear; he had refused to go to the hospital until he had found his daughter and was now breathing heavily looking exhausted. Ziva glanced at him worried as he coughed before she looked around the room again "it is impossible for us to get 100 clean identities by dawn, especially without the FBI's help"

Kate sighed and ran a hand through her hair looking at the radio on the table in front of them, turned on and ready for the next contact. She hated that he had their children and were using them for leverage so they could get always and live their lives with the money they had stolen.

Nobody spoke they just sat there thinking uncertainly. Then hesitantly Angela spoke up "it might not be right but I do know where we have a lot of unused identities". Everyone looked at her incredulously "really" Booth asked "where"

She hesitated before she spread her arms "here" she said and when everyone still looked confused she sighed and beckoned to them to follow her and she led them down the hall before she pushed open the door to a large dark room lit only by the light through the drawers which lined the walls containing hundreds of bodies.

Booth turned to face her "you want to use the identities of the people in Limbo" he asked dubiously. She shrugged "not all of them, just the names of the people whose remains have not been claimed by family, they aren't being used and right now I can't think of another alternative". Everyone looked around "can you find 100 people who have identities and have not had their bodies claimed" Booth asked looking at his watch "in 7 hours Ang" "if I have help then yes" she said "we get all their files out and go through finding the names of 100 people in the age range and who have no criminal histories and we write their information down, I can then use their files to create fake birth certificates that would pass inspection" she looked around at them all waiting to see what they thought of her idea.

They all debated before Booth sighed "well we will be committing identity fraud" he said "so if this all goes wrong, everything will be on the line". "I don't care" Tony said "at least Tali and the others will be ok". Kate nodded, right now she didn't care about herself, all she cared about was getting Livie and her friends to safety. Booth looked at Alexis "hey" he said "can you go check on Livie and Aiden for us please Alexis"

Alexis frowned "but I can be more help here" she protested "I can help find the identities". Booth touched her arm gently "hey" he said "you need to stay clean ok, if we do get caught for this we don't want you going down too, you have a future ok" Alexis made to protest but Kate caught hold of her "if this goes wrong and we get caught I want you to be there to look out for Livie" she said softly "please Lex"

Alexis hesitated before she sighed and nodded, she gave them all a weak smile before she headed slowly out of the lab towards the day care area. Just before the doors closed Gibbs reappeared. "How is Blair" Ziva asked instantly, he sighed "well I don't think we are going to have to worry about any flights between her and Tali now" he said "she was distraught when she found out Tali was still missing, crying her eyes out when I arrived" everyone sighed, this was hurting them all, especially Blair. "Did she tell you anything useful about the robbers" Rick asked, Gibbs shook his head "no she didn't remember much and she was too worked up, I'll go back and question her later when she has recovered a bit more". Ziva nodded and looked at Tony as he bent over and coughed, gently she touched his cheek "Tony" she said softly "you should really go to the hospital"

"No" he said fiercely "not until Tali is safe, not until those sons of bitches are paying for what they did to those girls ok". Ziva stared at him worried; she didn't like the way he kept coughing and was worried that he might need medical attention, but she was also worried about her daughter and she knew that Tony was and that he wouldn't stop until he found his ninja. She sighed and touched his cheek gently before turning to face the others

Booth looked at Brennan "so" he said lightly trying not to think about all the laws he was about to break, instead he focused solely on April, on her spark, her intelligence, her humour and her smile; that cheeky sweet smile that had him wrapped round her finger and he knew he would do whatever it took to get her back to safety.

"Where are the Limbo files" he asked and saw everyone lift their heads determinedly, resolute on getting their daughters back to safety.

XO

Tali jerked awake as she heard the door crash open and she instinctively struggled yanking at her bonds grunting in frustration when they wouldn't budge. Slowly she stopped before she looked up to see Livie and April staring up at her tired and afraid. She stared at them before slowly she looked up as the leader came in chuckling to himself. He looked at Tali laughing delightedly before he moved over to an old TV and switched it on flicking through until he came to a new station and Tali saw it was reporting the robbery of the bank which was completely destroyed. Still chuckling he turned up the volume so that Tali, Livie and April could hear the report;

"_We recently found out that one of the hostages, a teenage daughter of an NCIS agent was killed in the explosion after being shot fatally before the building was blown up as the robbers exited the scene through a back entrance. Our hearts go out to the friends and family of Blair Rosa McGee."_

April and Livie looked over as Tali let out a strangled screaming cry of horror "NO" she screamed "no no no". The leader laughed at her "yes" he said "your plucky friend is dead my darling, and she died saving your life, how does that feel".

Tali raised her head to look at him and there were tears streaming down her cheeks "you killed her" she sobbed "yes" he said "but she died saving you". Tali let out a keening sound of misery before she dropped her head sobbing. Grinning at her pain the leader moved round to crouch behind her "her death will always be your fault" he whispered "everyone will blame you honey, how do you think her daddy feels right now"

Instantly Tali twisted straining against her bonds again "Leh lehizdayen benzona" she screamed her eyes burning with anger "Tisaref B'Azazel Mamzer" he laughed "I take it you are not saying anything polite honey". Tali growled at him before repeating her curses tears still streaming down her cheeks, he laughed again before he slowly rose looking over at Livie and April who had tears streaming down their cheeks too, grinning smugly at them, he slowly backed out of the room.

April looked at Tali who had bent her head sobbing her heart out as she whispered more words in Hebrew which ended up sounding like a little song. Once she had finished she lifted her head to look at them. April swallowed; she wanted to tell her that it was alright, that they would be ok. But she couldn't; she couldn't lie to her because in truth she didn't know that everything would be ok, and Tali wouldn't believe her anyway. Blair was dead and Tali clearly blamed herself.

"Tali" she said softly "it wasn't your fault" "yes it was" Tali sobbed "that bullet was meant for me not her" she looked up at them "why" she half screamed, half sobbed "why did she take that bullet, I was ready to take it, I would have taken it, I didn't ask her to take it for me" she let out a sob "I wish she hadn't taken that bullet" she whispered "I wish she had just let me die"

April looked over at Livie and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks; neither of them knew how to respond to that, so neither of them said anything, they just sat there wallowing in their grief thinking of Blair and the life that she would never get to live.

**Hope you enjoyed that chapter.**

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**thanks**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi everyone thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 11

When Tali next awoke April and Livie were dozing with their heads resting back against the bars exhaustedly; they had all cried themselves to sleep. Tali's rest had been less than recuperating though; all she saw was Blair lying gasping on the floor a bullet wound to her stomach writhing in pain as she slowly bled out, the images would always end with Blair lying there, pale and unmoving, her eyes wide and unseeing.

Tali choked back a sob miserably "I'm sorry Blair" she whispered "I never meant for you to get hurt on my account"

"_But I did Tali" _Tali jumped as she heard Blair's voice, soft and hurting _"I died for you Tali, why did I have to die? What have you ever done for me that makes it ok for me to die for you" _

Tali blinked "I didn't ask you to take that bullet for me" she whispered _"but I did" _Blair said and Tali could almost see her leaning against the bars of their cell her shirt stained in blood looking at her with her eyes narrowed in that almost judging way. "Why did you take that bullet for me" Tali whispered

"_Because you are the princess of the bullpen" _Blair said _"everyone adores you, nobody likes me better you live than I"._

"No" Tali whispered "they all like you, don't you think for a second that they don't, of course they love you, I love you Blair and I'm sorry that we never managed to get along, if I could do it all over again I would do it differently, you and I would have gotten along, we would be friends and you would have never taken that bullet for me"

Her vision of Blair looked at her almost sceptically _"that wouldn't have worked out much better DiNozzo; the only difference would be that you wouldn't be sitting there bound to the bars of a cell, I would be, you would be dead". _

Tali dropped her head "at least you would be alive" she whispered closing her eyes.

She heard a crash and opened her eyes again; her vision of Blair was gone, just like the real one. She bent her head again struggling to stop the tears from dribbling down her cheeks as the guilt crushed her, because it was her fault, it was her fault that Blair was gone and McGee had lost his daughter, this was all her fault.

XO

It was dark when Blair woke up again, like it had been after the explosion. Everything had been foggy then, now it was almost too clear. Looking around the room, trying to find something that let her know she was safe. But the only thing visible was the glow coming from underneath the door that led to the hallway. And through the door she could hear voices. People talking in hushed, low voices.

With her breath quickening she fumbled around on the bedside table, feeling around for the small lamp that she'd seen earlier. She sat up quickly as she knocked a glass onto the floor hearing it shatter, letting out a cry of pain as the movement pulled at her stitches as she moved back even further. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears. But that was good, for the moment. It meant she didn't hear the voices. Bringing her hands up to her temples she rocked herself back and forth, hoping it would calm her down, before someone came in.

Breath still shaky she lay back down, staring up at the ceiling until she eventually fell back into a light, dreamless sleep.

Bang.

Pain.

Boom.

More pain.

Blair woke up with a sharp cry, blinking in the harsh light. From her right she heard someone call her name and turning her head slightly, she saw both Tim and Abby sitting by her bedside. "Are you feeling okay?" Tim asked and she nodded, despite the throbbing headache she'd woken up to. "You sure?" He questioned. "Yes. I'm fine..." She muttered, leaning back against the pillows. "Did you sleep alright?" Abby asked and Blair rolled her eyes. "What is this? 20 questions? Seriously... I slept fine."

She noticed McGee and Abby share a look. "What?" She said in a confused tone. "It's just, one of the nurses came in earlier when we weren't here. There was a smashed glass on the floor Blair." He finished quietly and she looked away.

_Bang._

Flinching, she jumped slightly causing both of them to give her a concerned stare. "I couldn't find the lamp." She shrugged, still not looking them in the eye. "Where'd you go anyway?" Blair questioned, finally glancing up at them. "We had to go get some of your stuff from home." Tim told her. "Why? I'm not gonna be bedridden for weeks or something stupid like that am I?" She looked at McGee but it was Abby that answered, "Um, possibly. It depends how everything goes." Blair gave a dramatic sigh, "Great.**" **before she perked up again, "Any news... You know on Tali and the others?" She asked and McGee and Abby shared a look, not wanting to start another one of Blair's breakdowns.

"Not really. The rest of the team are going through Limbo at the Jefferisonian trying to find the identities that they wanted. But hopefully we'll know more soon, try not to worry about it too much Blair." McGee said, and to his relief Blair nodded in reply and mumbled a quiet, "Oh." Then she looked around before asking another question, "So what actually happened. Like after the big ka-boom." Abby turned to McGee, who nodded at her before starting to tell Blair what had happened, leaving out anything about Tali, "Tony and I went into the bank, where we found you. You used a pipe against a cabinet, remember that?" She shook her head lightly, frowning in concentration.

Clang.

She instantly let out a gasp, and a clouded look crossed over her eyes before she shook it off and turned back to them. "You okay?" McGee questioned, looking worriedly. She held back the sarcastic comment and bit her lip instead. "I just, uh I remembered something..." She muttered and Abby inched forward. "What did you remember?" She asked quietly and Blair shrugged, "Nothing. Nothing important". Even though both Abby and McGee knew she had in fact remembered something that was far from nothing as such, neither said anything to Blair, knowing how sensitive she'd become after everything and not wanting to upset her any more then she already was.

It was then when one of Blair's doctors came in, flanked by another woman in scrubs. Blair glanced between each of them, then over at Abby who nodded as if to say it was okay. "How are you feeling Blair?" He asked and she gave a small smile, "Fine thanks." He nodded, noting something down on her clipboard, "Any pain?" He questioned and she looked away, not wanting anyone to catch her lie, "Nope. I'm all good." The doctor looked over his glasses at McGee who shook his head, "Okay. Thanks Blair, we'll see what we can do." She turned to face McGee, scowling at him. He simply rolled his eyes at the grumpy teenager, "Now, do you mind if we check your stitches, make sure everything's going as it should be?" Again, before replying she looked over at Abby for the confirmative nod. "Um. Sure. I guess.." She mumbled as the other woman walked forward, pulling a pair of gloves on as she did.

Blair cast a glare over at McGee and he took the hint. "Can I ask you something outside?" He asked the doctor who smiled and nodded, signing off something on Blair's clipboard and hanging it over the edge of the bed. Standing up, he smiled slightly as Abby moved into his seat so she was closer to Blair who mumbled something, making the forensic scientist smile as she took hold of her hand. Sensing she was in good hands, McGee followed the older man out of Blair's room and stopped out in the hallway. "There was something you wanted to ask?" McGee nodded, "I just wanted to know if you had an idea about how her memory of the explosion and such were going to come back." The doctor took his glasses off and rubbed at his temple lightly, "It all depends. It could take a matter of weeks or more, it could all come back at once."

McGee thought about his answer, trying to come up with the right words, "Thank you. And at this stage I was also wondering about ATSD." He nodded. "Acute Traumatic Stress Disorder?" It was McGee's turn to nod his head, over his time working at NCIS, there had been a handful of cases with a PTSD Marine, and he wanted to approach the fact Blair might get this with caution. "Has she shown any signs? I take it you know what they are..." He asked.

"A few so far. Since she's been up she's had a couple of flashbacks, each time she's gotten that look in her eye. The one where you can tell they are literally back there. And last night, there ended up being a glass of water on the ground when she went into a panic trying to find the lamp." The doctor smiled at the younger agent. "For now, just keep an eye on it. If it continues to happen frequently or it gets any worse. Let one of us know." McGee smiled and nodded, going back over to the door to Blair's room, and hand on the door handle he thanked the man before knocking lightly and moving back inside.

XO

Kate sighed and ran her hands through her hair before she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Stifling a yawn she looked around, everyone was bent over the files they were reading, checking the identities of the people in Limbo to see if they were ideal before giving them to Angela who was erasing their death certificates and making them suitable. It was nearly dawn and they had been going all night, "how many do we have" she asked softly "87" Hodgins said taking another one from Ziva who seemed to be the only one awake; she was used to being sleep deprived from her time in Mossad and she worked solidly. A few hours ago she had asked Cam to check Tony over and she had agreed, she had checked him over, advised him to go to the hospital and he had refused again before she had given him some painkillers and told him to lie down.

Exhausted he had fallen asleep on the sofa next to Ziva telling them to wake him in an hour but they all left him there hoping to help him get better. She handed Angela another file and before she reached for another, just as she did so though there was a crackle and the radio sprang into life.

"**Oh Kate, are you there Kate, you had better answer in the next five seconds ore someone might get hurt"**

Instantly she dived for it at the same time Ziva leapt up and her movement jolted Tony awake making him grunt startled before he began to cough again. Kate grabbed the radio gasping _"I'm here" _**"good" **he praised **"well how is it going, do you have our identities" **

"_We are working on them now" _Kate said _"we nearly have them all" _**"very good Kate, though I am surprised that the FBI helped you" **Kate ducked her head _"they didn't" _she muttered. She looked up and saw Sweets scribbling something on a pad before he thrust it at her and she hesitated before she read out what he had written _"we stole them" _

There was silence before he began to laugh **"really" **he mused **"well Kate I am impressed that you would risk everything to save your child and her friends" **he chuckled **"your mommies and daddies are committing crimes to get you back" **he said evidently to the girls **"isn't that sweet" **Kate looked around at everyone who was listening intently their faces grim.

"**I saw the news Kate" **he continued **"I heard about the other girl, shame, she was such a sweet girl, so noble for her to risk her life to save her little friend… hmm yes darling it is your fault she is dead isn't it". **They heard an angry shriek in the back ground before they heard Tali screaming angrily in Hebrew making him laugh **"language my darling" **he chided **"such horrible language should not be spoken by one so young and sweet" **

To the side of her Kate heard Ziva mutter the same words as Tali as she evidently cursed these men to hell from where she sat gripping Tony's hand tightly. _"Are the girls alright" _she asked dreading the answer **"oh they are fine Kate, the little NCIS brat is a bit angry and upset but they are all fine". **Kate ducked her head, of course he would have shown Tali the news footage, of course Tali would blame herself and it sounded like he was rubbing it in. She wished there was some way they could reassure Tali, to tell her that Blair was actually fine, but they couldn't, not without risking compromising the mission.

"_I want more proof that they are ok" _she demanded _"because I don't trust your word". _He gave a mock sigh **"very well shall I send you a photo" **_"yes please" _Kate said trying not to let her anger and fear take over her **"very well lets see … ah this is your phone isn't it sweetheart… yes lets use that to send a picture… to mommy… there we go Kate" **

Kate looked around as there was a gentle _ping_ and slowly almost hypnotically Ziva reached into her pocket and her eyes widened as she pulled out her phone. Leaning over Kate saw that there was a text message from Tali. Slowly Ziva clicked on it and opened the image, her eyes filled with pain as she saw the image and she choked back a small sob before she held out the phone to Tony who took it his eyes angry before he handed it to Kate who felt her heart break when she saw the image.

It showed the three girls sitting in a small cell in the centre of a room. They were each bound tightly to the bars of the cell, their arms yanked back in painful positions to be bound to together. They were all staring at the camera their eyes wide and pleading. She could see April looking angry; her eyes cold and hard, copies of her father's eyes right now as he peered over her shoulder at the image. Her own daughter looked terrified and she had reason to be; she was her daughter and Kate was the negotiator, if she did something he didn't like then he would hurt Livie first, they all knew.

Then there was Tali, the youngest girl was staring at the camera with tears of agony streaming down her cheeks. But this was not from physical pain, yes there were signs that she had been beaten, but this pain was pain of the mind; the guilt she felt knowing that Blair had died for her was crushing her, tearing her apart and the pain she felt was visible in Livie and April's eyes but not to the same extent. The sight of them all like that nearly broke Kate's heart.

"**Have you got the picture Kate" **the abductor asked. Slowly she handed the phone to Rick who muttered a stream of abuse at them and his wrapped one arm protectively around Alexis. _"Yes" _Kate whispered into the radio and he chuckled again **"see they are fine… now can we get down to business because as sweet as these girls are I don't want them here any longer, I might get bored of them soon and that is when things might get messy" **_"fine" _Kate said _"what do you want us to do" _

"**I want the exchange to be carried out at a place of my choosing when I tell you, I will text you that info and a time, and the person I choose to make the exchange had better be there or things wont end well"**

Kate frowned _"wait who do you want to make the exchange" _he chuckled **"glad you picked up on that because I don't want you to make the exchange Kate, nor any member of your team"**. Kate looked around worried _"well who is it that you want" _she asked.

He laughed delightedly obviously enjoying this **"I want… your other daughter to do the exchange" **he said

Everyone froze and their eyes all flashed to Alexis where she sat next to her dad. Her eyes were wide too and they all saw Rick's arm tighten around her a look of fear on his face. Kate stared at them both in horror _"w-what" _she managed to stammer **"your other daughter is the one who has to make the exchange" **the kidnapper said **"I know about her Kate, the pretty little red head, has her daddy's eyes"**

On the other end of the line they heard a scream as Livie began to cry out "no no please no leave her alone" "shut up" he snapped at her before he turned his attention back to Kate. **"I want it to be her Kate" **_"no" _Kate said adamantly _"no way in hell are we letting another child come anywhere near you" _he chuckled **"well if you want to see your other little girl and her friends again you had better change your mind Kate… I'll call again in fifteen minutes so you can let me know if your other daughter will be there or if I need to send three bullets out of my gun" **and with that the radio went silent.

Nobody spoke at first, they just all sat there, slowly Kate looked at Alexis; her head was bent and her hands were clenched together as she refused to look at anybody, her hair falling around her face like a curtain, shielding her face from view.

She looked at Rick and saw the panic in his eyes and the desperation, she could feel those emotions mirrored on her face as she stared back at him. "What are we going to do" Booth asked quietly "well there is no way in hell Alexis is going in there" Kate said moving to stand protectively on the other side of her stepdaughter "she can't go in" "well what are we going to do" Tony asked "because we need to think of an answer before he calls back and then decides to kill them all"

"What if we said yes" Sweets said and Rick and Kate gave him a murderous look as he hurriedly pressed on "but didn't send her, instead we were waiting and ambushed them"

"That's too risky" Alexis whispered not looking up still. "She's right" Gibbs said from where he was leaning against the wall "if they see that it isn't her then they will kill them there and then". "Well we can't send in another girl when he already has three, what if he wants to have her too" Ziva said her eyes moving hurriedly from face to face searching them for an answer "we don't really have another choice" Booth said.

Instantly they began to bicker arguing amongst themselves. Kate looked at Rick helplessly not knowing what to do; slowly he reached over and took her hand squeezing it gently before they both looked back as the bickering got louder.

"That is the only way to get them back" Sweets was saying "think about it Ziva" "Oh I am" Ziva snapped "my daughter is in there remember convinced that she had another girl killed and blaming herself, I want her out of there more than anything else but I don't want to risk another girl's life to get them back, it isn't right"

Before Kate could intervene though she was surprised by Alexis leaping up and stepping into the middle of the fight. "Hey" she shouted "shut up" everyone was so shocked they all stopped to look at her. She glared around the room "all this fighting isn't going to help the girls at all; we need to keep working together as a team, that is the only way we can save them". Her gaze softened as she looked at them all before it became determined "and there isn't any reason for you to be arguing because…" she paused and looked straight at her father and Kate "because I'll do it" she said

"What" Kate and Rick both cried leaping up "no". "Are you crazy Lex" Kate exclaimed "you can't go in there it is too dangerous" she caught hold of the teenagers arm staring into her calm blue eyes. "It is the only way to get Livie, Tali and April back" Alexis whispered "no we can't risk you getting hurt too" Kate said staring at her before she looked around desperately willing someone to support her in this. "Kate" Alexis whispered "I can do this, I want to do this, I want to help the girls, I want to save my little sister"

Kate blinked back tears, hating that the only way to save one of her daughters was to risk the other. "Alexis" Booth whispered "don't feel like you have to do this, we completely understand if you don't want to and we won't blame you if you don't". Alexis smiled weakly at him "no I want to help; I have been feeling so helpless watching you guys try to save them, I have so wanted to help and now is my chance"

"Alexis there is a difference between rooting through files and running headfirst into danger" Tony said his face worried. She looked around at them all "say whatever you want" she said calmly "but I have made my mind up, I am going to that meeting whether you like it or not though I would love to know that you were all there behind me should I need you all"

Everyone stared at her before they all looked at Kate and Rick who stared back at the teenager who stared at them as though daring them to try and stop her. Slowly Rick moved forward and caught hold of her shoulders "are you sure honey" he asked staring at her. Alexis stared back at him "positive" she said clearly before she leaned against his chest "I'll be fine dad I promise"; Rick wrapped his arms around her hugging her tight at the same time the robbers returned.

"**Oh Kate" **the leader sang through the radio **"where are you Kate I want an answer". **Blinking back tears Kate reached for the radio _"I'm here" _she whispered **"and what is your answer Kate" **he asked. Kate swallowed looking around before she looked at Alexis who was hugging her father. The teenager forced a smile onto her face and nodded at her. Hating every word and almost having to force them out she slowly responded _"my… daughter… is willing… to make the exchange" _

She didn't need to mention that Alexis wasn't biologically hers, not that it would make a difference and she loved Alexis as if she were her own anyway. **"Aw that is wonderful Kate" **he said happily **"she must be a lot like you my dear… strong, confident, brave" **_"yes" _Kate said softly, he chuckled **"well I will text the location of the exchange to the NCIS brat's mother Kate and I expect the girl to be there alone, you understand, I see any of you and it is lights out for not just these girls, but for the redhead too do you understand"**

Kate felt her eyes filling with tears as she choked back a sob _"yes" _she whispered _"I understand" _**"good" **he said **"well it has been a pleasure talking to you Kate, those identities had better be up to scratch, goodbye" **and with that the connection once again ended.

Kate groaned running her hands through her hair dropping the radio on the table. "Ok" Booth said taking point "we have to plan, it is going to be difficult since we don't know where the exchange is going to be held but we need to have some sort of plan". He turned to Hodgins "I need button cameras for Alexis to wear" he said "and wires, I trust you have some here" the scientist nodded eagerly and leapt out of the room. Gibbs slowly moved out "I am going to check in with McGee" he said "see how Blair is and fill him in on what is happening" everyone nodded before they all looked at Booth as he began to try and plan the rescue mission.

XOX

McGee checked his watch, and looked over at Blair who had fallen asleep an hour or so ago. He took a glance at Abby, who smiled back at him. "Any news about the drop?" She asked and he nodded before replying. "Yeah. They've planned to do it later on this afternoon." She bit on her lip, thinking about what she was going to say. "Do you wish you were there?" She questioned softly and he shrugged. "In a way. But I can't leave Blair." She gave him a pointed look. "Timmy, I'm here. I'm sure I can handle her for a couple of hours. She can't exactly get up and attack. And Ducky and Jimmy are here somewhere." She grinned and he smiled slightly before reverting his gaze back over at Blair.

"I'd never attack you Abby." They heard her mutter. And Abby raised her eyebrows at Tim. "You heard all that?" He questioned not annoyed, but it was something he'd rather her not hear. "Yep." She murmured and he sighed. "I think you should go, just sayin'." She said, pulling herself up so she was in more of a sitting position. She coughed as she swallowed and looked around the room. "Any chance of a drink or something?" She asked. Tim nodded, standing up and moving over to a small table where a pitcher of water sat.

"Can I say something?" Blair asked and Tim rolled his eyes, "haven't you said enough already?" She smirked at him. "Okay, well I think you should go." He gave her a look and she gave a half nod, "I'll be fine. I think I can survive the rest of the day without you." McGee gave a smile and moved back over to her bedside, passing her the glass of water.

She took a sip before reaching over to place it on the table next to the bed, just as there was a light knock at the door causing her to flinch. The glass survived the fall off the table by a few inches, almost repeating what happened earlier that morning. Both Abby and Tim looked up in a concerned manner at Blair who had paled, but she quickly shook it off. "I'm fine, I'm good." She muttered, shaking her head at them. The door opened then and Gibbs moved inside, before shutting the door behind him. Noticing Blair was up, he motioned for Tim to move over to corner so he could talk to him, not wanting to upset the teenager

"Any news on the girls?" He asked as soon as he knew Blair wouldn't be able to hear him. Gibbs nodded, "Alexis is making the drop later on, they haven't told us the location yet, but they're organising the plan now." Tim stared at him, shocked. "Alexis?" He questioned and Gibbs looked away, "we think he found a photo with her in it in Livie's purse and wants her to be the one to make the drop, with the 100 identities we've had to find." McGee shook his head. "And she wants to do it?" He asked and Gibbs nodded in reply.

"How's Blair doing?" Tim shrugged. "Hard to tell. It's obvious she's remembered bits and pieces but she just brushes it off. I don't think she wants us to see her as weak." Gibbs nodded, looking over his younger agents shoulder at the teenager who was talking softly to Abby, who had a smile on her face as she listened. "I think you'll find she'll relax a lot more when she knows Tali's okay."

"Yeah. I guess you're right, I just hate seeing her like this." He thought quickly as Gibbs listened to his reply before turning away from him, "boss do you need help? Blair said she doesn't mind if I leave. And I think she'll be fine if Abby stays with her, it's just when she's alone she gets a bit panicky." Gibbs turned back to face him, "Make sure it's okay with Blair, then, I don't mind. But clear it with her." McGee nodded and went to walk forward, "I don't mind." Blair piped up suddenly. Gibbs chuckled slightly at the teenager's comment.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked her and she gave a half nod. "I guess." She told him before looking over at McGee, "but they need you dad. Seriously, I'll be fine, I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" He rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to answer that. But if you really are okay with me leaving, I'll go." He said and she nodded quickly, looking away before her face brightened again. "Next time you come back, can you please bring back Caf-Pow." She grinned, looking at Abby who smiled back, obviously in agreement.

As McGee went to leave, she spoke again. "Before you go," she started, gaining all three of the adult's attention. "Can I get up. Like out of bed? My legs will go to sleep otherwise." She smiled, but her face fell when they all looked at her sceptically. "Nope?" She muttered, "okay..." Gibbs smiled at the crestfallen girl, "Blair." He started softly and she glanced back up at him before he continued, "if you let us help you, you can." She shrugged and gave another smile. "I'll do anything if it gets me out of here."

As they moved back over to stand next to her, she pulled herself into a sitting position. Gritting her teeth, not wanting to show how much it hurt her. "Blair, maybe we should wait a few more days." Tim said in a worried voice. But she shook her head quickly, "no, no. I want to do it now. Please?" She almost whined, pouting at them. At both of their nods she pulled back the blanket and swung her legs round, slowly. "Oh my gosh, what the hell happened to my legs?" She asked, a horrified expression on her face as she stared at her heavily bruised legs. "That's from after the explosion. Tony and I had to pull off a piece of ceiling that you were pinned by." McGee explained. She sat in silence for a moment, processing the new information she had on what happened. Eventually she swallowed and glanced up, the dazed look leaving her eyes. "I'm fine...!" They all looked at her, and she pulled a face. Carefully, she slid forward so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, the tips of her feet resting on the ground. Taking a deep breath she stood up, still leaning against the bed heavily.

Grinning at them all, she took both offered, hands and stepped forward, refraining from letting out a whimper of pain. She regained her self and moved another step forward. Letting go of McGee's hand and after another step, Gibbs' hand. She let out a shaky sigh as she reached the table and turned back around to face them all. They all smiled at her, she laughed softly before saying, "Can I go brush my teeth? While I'm up." Tim nodded and she made her way slowly over to the small adjoining bathroom. She'd only gotten about halfway before she stopped abruptly, her eyes widening as they all looked at her, curious and worried.

She stared at the wall, and it was almost as if she was watching a scene from a movie play out. Suddenly she stumbled, falling onto her knees as she let out a cry of, 'Tali!' Her eyes darted round as she pulled herself backward into the closest corner of the room where she gave another choking sob. She heard someone call her name through the cloudiness, but she didn't respond, she just pulled her knees up to her chest. Despite the pain she was feeling in her stomach she continued to rock herself back and forth, staring into space, as she remembered the words Tali had said to her as she had lay, bleeding out on the floor.

"_No you are not going to die, you hear me, please Blair hang on, hang on for Timmy, he needs you Blair." _She remembered muttering something back in protest before Tali spoke again from where she had been bending over her fighting back tears.

_"No Blair he loves you, he doesn't want to lose you. Please Blair, don't leave him... Don't leave... Me." _

She remembered wanting to close her eyes, wanting to just sink into unconsciousness, but she couldn't. Something kept her hanging on. Maybe it was the blinding pain, or maybe it was Tali's changed view of her.

_"Please. Don't leave our family." _Our. Tali had said 'our'. That was what had changed everything, made her want to stay awake.

That was when Blair jolted out of her daze. Shaking her head softly and brushing her hair back behind her ears. She looked up to see all three of the adults staring at her in concern, then Gibbs moved forward slowly, and she glanced down, doing a double take when she saw a few spots of blood on the hospital gown. "Huh?" She mumbled, her eyes widening. "Blair shh." Gibbs murmured and she stared up at him, suddenly feeling light headed. He crouched next to her, "I think you just ripped a few of your stitches." He told her, before turning his gaze to Abby and McGee who were both watching, worried. "Will one of you go get a doctor?" He said and McGee, who was closest to the door hurried out without a backward glance.

"What did you remember Blair?" He asked her and she looked away, "Nothing. I just tripped." She mumbled and he caught her eye again, "That was more then you just falling over Blair, what did you remember?" He repeated the question, firm but still gentle. "Fine... I remembered what Tali... Said to me. And before you ask, no. I don't want to talk about it." She finished going to get up, but Gibbs held her in place. "Blair stay still, you don't want to make it any worse." She nodded but didn't speak.

They both looked up as McGee re-entered the room, with a doctor following behind him. "Do you think you can get up and over to the bed?" The doctor asked Blair and she nodded slowly after looking at Gibbs. She took the outstretched hand and let herself get pulled up into a standing position. She blinked quickly, a wave of dizziness crossing her before she made her way slowly over to the bed where she hoisted herself onto it and leaning back against the pillows she stared up at the ceiling. Not wanting to look as the doctor cleaned and re-stitched the wound that she had made even worse then it already was.

The doctor left soon after, making sure to give firm instructions that she was to stay in bed and not make another attempt to get back up. It was then that McGee was having second thoughts about leaving with Gibbs. Blair sighed, "just go, I'll be fine. I'm not even allowed out of bed, I'll be fine." She sounded annoyed now, like she was hating the attention she was getting. McGee nodded said goodbye to both Blair and Abby and after promising to keep them updated he left with Gibbs to return back to the Jefferisonian and get filled in on about the plan the rest of the team had hopefully started to construct.

XO

Ziva paced back and forth across the top platform. Down below everyone was waiting, waiting for the location to be given to they could go rescue their daughters. Booth was talking to Alexis telling her what to do and what not to do, Rick and Kate were with her trying not to show their fear; she couldn't imagine how frightened they must be, to have to watch their other child walk into the danger and know that it was the only way they would ever see their other child again.

Ziva sighed and sat on the sofa putting her head in her hands closing her eyes before she opened them again shivering. All she could see was Tali bound in that cell will tears streaming down her cheeks. She sighed again trying to shake that image. She had gone down to the day care to see Aiden earlier to try and clear her head, they were lucky that one of the careers had understood their situation and was taking care of both Libby and Aiden for them until they had their daughters back.

She had hoped seeing her baby son would help ease the pain and at first it had; watching him staggering across the room towards her giggling excitedly holding up his arms asking to be lifted. She had lifted him up hugging him tightly as he giggled "moma moma" over and over again; she had settled onto a seat and hugged him tightly as he had played with her necklace content for a while. Then he had asked after dada and she had told him daddy was working which sated him as usual, but then he had looked at her and asked "where Tah-Lee moma"

She had struggled to keep herself together as she had stared into his eyes bright and curious. "I don't know tateleh" she had responded gently "she's not here my love" he had pouted "want Tah-lee" he had demanded but there was nothing she could do to please him then.

She had set him down for a nap then in the little crib that had been set up before she had backed out unable to hide her fears now – what if something did happen to Tali? What would she tell Aiden?

But she shook that thought out of her mind, Tali would come back, she would be fine, there was no point worrying about something she was determined wouldn't happen. She was brought out of her reverie by the sound of a gentle ping and she slowly pulled out her phone opening it. She froze when she saw who the message was from before she clicked on it reading the location of the negotiation.

_Arlington National Cemetery.  
Central Plot  
Row 15 Grave 1197  
One Hour  
The girl must come alone._

Ziva let out a gasp before she turned and all but sprinted off of the platform, tumbling down the stairs into the office. "I got the location" she cried causing everyone to leap up "where is it" Tony asked moving towards her a look of apprehension on his face "Arlington National Cemetery" she said softly looking around. Booth frowned "well that is going to be hard for us to stay nearby" he said "they will be able to see us coming and it isn't like we can hide behind a gravestone". "But they won't be able to hide sharp shooters very easily" Ziva pointed out and they all nodded, that was something at least.

"It is in one hour" Booth checked and Ziva nodded "ok" Booth said and they all glanced at Alexis who nodded again. Slowly Booth sighed "let's get down there then" he said.

XO

Abby woke with a start from where she'd fallen into a light sleep on the hard backed chair. Stretching, she groaned at the stiff neck she'd gotten from the position she'd been in. Moving in her seat she looked up at Blair who was now curled on her side, one hand holding her pillow over her head, and the other outstretched towards her, gripping the blanket that covered her loosely.

Pulling her phone out of her bag she turned it on, checking the time and the new message she had from McGee asking how Blair was. She quickly replied back that she was fine and was asleep before glancing back up at the teenager, who mumbled something in her sleep. Thinking nothing of it, she smiled as her phone dinged, signalling another message from Tim. Sending one back, she placed her phone on the bedside table and turned back to Blair as she let out a small cry, taking a firmer grasp on the blanket she was holding.

Abby bit her lip, moving forward in her seat so she was sitting right up close to the bed. Taking hold of the teenager's hand, she instantly felt Blair lock her in a death grip. "Blair, shh." She murmured, using her free hand to move the pillow from where she was holding it. Through Blair's closed eyes, her face was twisted into a pained expression, and as Abby brushed a strand of hair the girls face she noticed how she was on the verge of breaking into a sweat. She moved suddenly, and let out another wail, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Blair, please. It's only a dream, you're safe" Abby said, in hopes to render her from her nightmare. Sighing, Abby moved herself so she was lying on the bed next to the teenager, who instantly moved closer, her cries becoming less frequent.

It was a few minutes later when Blair woke, jerking into a sitting position. It took a moment for her to realise where she was and that she was safe before she turned to look at Abby. A sob passing through her lips before she threw her arms around the scientist who rubbed her back comfortingly. "You okay?" She asked eventually as Blair pulled back. The teenager glanced away before looking back at her. "I... Don't know. It seemed so real." Abby nodded, and Blair continued, looking down at her hands as she did so. "Tali. She got shot." She muttered and Abby replied, startled, "what!? Tali got shot? I thought she was alright, oh my God." Blair bit her lip, "no. In my dream, she didn't actually get shot..." Abby smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. But she didn't Blair, she's fine. And she'll be back here soon."

The teenager nodded, before she glanced up again. "Have you heard anything, about the drop?" Abby shook her head in response. "Not really, Timmy hasn't told me much, just that they were still waiting on the address. I don't think he wants us to worry." She finished, looking over at her phone, which hadn't made a sound since Abby had sent her last text. "Figures. It's a bit late for that now, right." Blair muttered, "you do think they'll be okay though don't you? I don't know what I'd do if anything happened. To any of them. Because it'd be my fault. For not stopping them from going into the bank to start with. It's cos of me that they might die." She finished her rambling, and leant back against Abby, both of them sitting in silence, their thoughts the same, but getting enough comfort from each other that they felt they didn't need to talk. They just needed to wait.

XO

Kate stared at Alexis as Ziva crouched in front of her in the van fitting a button camera to her shirt. The teenager looked relaxed but they could all see the doubt in her eyes, and her eyes were uncertain and slightly fearful yet determined, Ziva finished and leaned back on her heels. "That has a range of about 200 feet so try not to go to far away" she said, Alexis nodded slowly. Ziva glanced away before she picked up a watch "this has a tracking device in it" she said "whatever you do don't lose it" Alexis nodded again and took the watch carefully strapping it on.

Kate glanced at Rick who was watching his daughter prepare for this mission with a blank expression on his face though his eyes were struggling to hide the fear and remain calm. She reached out and took his hand squeezing it gently trying to reassure him; he glanced over and gave her a small smile that didn't reach his eyes before the blank expression returned as he looked away.

The door to their surveillance van opened and Booth, Gibbs, Tony and McGee all climbed in and shut the door. "Ok we have fifteen minutes till Alexis is due at the drop" Booth said, "we planted as many cameras as we could without them being seen in the area around it along with microphones" he glanced at McGee who was typing away at the computers before he pressed the enter button and half a dozen cameras appeared on the screen encircling the area around grave 1179. "So don't worry" Booth said to Alexis trying to sound positive "we will have eyes on you at all times" Alexis nodded "thank you" she mumbled and for a few minutes they all sat in silence waiting, not knowing what to say.

Eventually Alexis sighed and she looked at the clock "five minutes" she murmured "I guess I should get going huh". Nobody spoke, they all just stared at her wishing there was another way that this could be done, another way that didn't risk her life. Rick slowly stood up and wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly "be careful" he whispered as she hugged him back "of course I will be dad" she mumbled back "I am the responsible one remember". Rick cracked a small smile before he looked away as his daughter stepped back, she hugged Kate tightly too before she reached for the briefcase containing the required identities. She moved towards the door of the van where she paused with her hand on the handle and she looked back at them all "well" she said with a smile "we will see you soon" and then she opened the door and slipped out closing it tightly behind her.

Kate looked around as they all gathered around the computer screens watching Alexis make her way through the graveyard. "Does anyone else have a really bad feeling about this" she murmured. Glancing around she saw that everyone had raised their hands, their eyes never leaving the screens as they watched Alexis arrive at Grave 1179, they watched and they waited, waiting for the drama to begin.

**Haha lovely long chapter for you there, hope you appreciate it.**

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	12. Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

Alexis clutched the bag tightly as she slowly made her way up the hill towards the grave swallowing hard. When she arrived at the required grave she stopped but kept hold of the briefcase as she looked at the gravestone, reading the words inscribed into it;

_Kevin McCunningham_

_Medal of Honour_

_Capt_

_US Navy_

_29th Dec 1946_

_14 June 2007_

_Semper Fidelis _

She sighed hating how this soldiers rest was going to be disturbed by these robbers. "Sorry" she whispered sensitively, ducking her head out of respect for all of the dead soldiers surrounding her.

"Quite breathtaking isn't it" came a voice from behind and she instantly whirled round to see a man moving towards her, looking around himself at the white stones "how beautiful a place can be that houses so much death". He looked at her and smiled "hello my dear… Alexis isn't it, what a pretty name"

In the van Kate placed a soothing hand on Rick's as he visibly tensed up but her gesture did little to calm him and herself. She looked at the images staring at the leader who wasn't wearing a mask. He stared at Alexis with dark cruel eyes as he moved towards her and as he drew close an evil smirk slipped onto his face.

Alexis stepped back maintaining the distance. "Aw don't worry honey I don't want to hurt you" he crooned but Alexis didn't stop retreating until she sensed movement from behind and sat two more men approaching so that they had her surrounded. Her breathing quickened as she looked around frantically.

"Are our new identities in that case darling" the leader asked his eyes fixed on the briefcase that she clutched. Slowly Alexis nodded "good" he said and held out his hand "give them to me honey"

Alexis stared at him breathing hard before she hurriedly shook her head. The leader frowned in surprise before he recovered himself and raised his eyebrows "no" he questioned and Alexis nodded. He smirked and from under his jacket he produced a large gun which he aimed straight at her.

"No" Rick gasped leaping to his feet and rushing towards the door. Tony, Gibbs and Booth all leapt for him as McGee bolted the door standing in front of it. "Rick" Kate gasped grabbing for him "No you can't go out there, if they see a cop they will kill her" "well we all know I am not a cop" Rick growled. "That doesn't matter to them" Kate begged grabbing his arm "Rick I am terrified for her too, you know I am, please … trust me". He turned to look at her, his eyes wide before they filled with tears and he let out a moan and sank into a chair placing his head in his hands. Kate looked around before she nodded to everyone and they all turned their attention back to the screen.

Alexis had managed to remain calm as the guns rose to point at her though her breathing remained fast, she stared at the leader who smiled at her "you might want to rethink that my darling" he whispered. Alexis took a deep breath and demanded "I want to see my sister and her friends before I do anything for you". The leader cocked his head to one side to stare at her before he smiled "very well my dear you drive a hard bargain" he raised his hands in an almost mocking gesture before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. He dialled a number before he brought the phone to his ear "yeah" he said "change of plan… bring the brats up here… yeah the girl is refusing to show the identities until she sees her sister and her friends… because I would rather not shoot her just yet ok… just bring them up".

He closed the phone before he smiled at her sweetly "they are on their way" he said with a smile. Alexis shifted uncertainly glancing around tightening her grip on the briefcase. She watched him as he glanced around and as he smiled and waved at the cameras surrounding the area. "Mommy and daddy watching" he asked, Alexis didn't respond.

She heard struggles from behind and she swung round to see Tali, April and Livie being forced towards her. She gasped when she saw them with their wrists yanked behind their backs and bound, they looked exhausted and frightened and beaten. "Livie" she breathed, her sister stared at her "Lexie" she half sobbed "no"

"Shh" Alexis whispered "its ok" Livie stared at her with tears sliding down her cheeks as she and the others were shoved forward; Alexis glanced over at the leader to see a smirk that she didn't like in the slightest on his face.

"We have visual on the girls now" Booth murmured as they spotted them being dragged towards the hill "that is good" "well this would be the part if we hadn't gone rogue where we called in SWAT teams" McGee muttered. Everyone looked at him "so what now" Kate asked staring at the four girls on the screen "I don't know" Booth said "we need to get them away from the guns" "how do you propose we do that" Gibbs asked. "We wait" Tony said and everyone looked at him "um sorry" Rick asked, Tony tapped the screen "look at Tali" he said "you honestly don't think she has a plan, look at her, she is pissed as hell and struggling not to go into ninja mode, the moment she makes her move we go"

Everyone looked around at each other before they looked at Gibbs "I have seen Tali in this sort of situation" he said slowly "I say we trust her", slowly everyone nodded having heard of Tali's ninja moments. They all turned back to the screens and as he watched her stumble slightly Tony wondered if he had made the right choice.

XO

Tali fought as they were pulled out of the van "come on" the guy holding her growled "move". She glared at him angrily until he swore and punched her in the gut causing her to grunt and fall to her knees, then he grabbed her again by her hair dragging her to her feet and forcing her forward through the graves.

Tali thought frantically as she was shoved though the stones. She looked around anxiously and saw that Livie and April were being forced along beside her, their eyes were wide and frightened. Breathing heavily she looked ahead again and saw amongst the stones was Alexis surrounded by the rest of the robbers with the leader standing in front of her talking smugly to her fingering a pistol at his waist.

Tali knew that if they ended up with Alexis on the crown of that hill then none of them were walking out of it alive. As they moved up the hill she feigned a stumble, sinking to one knee. "Get up" on of their captors growled and grabbed her arm yanking her back up. As he did so Tali doubled over and her hands slipped upwards slipping under her shirt to her belt, she slipped her hand on the inside and instantly felt the hilt. Quickly she grasped it and pulled her blade free of its sheath as they approached Alexis and hid it until they were all forced to stand in a line.

As the men all focused their attention on Alexis again Tali instantly began to work. Keeping as still as possible so as not to attract attention to herself she pressed the blade of her knife against the zip ties around her wrists and began to hack at them as she listened to the confrontation in front of her.

"Now see" the leader said "your sister is fine and so are her friends, now give me the identities sweetheart". "No" Alexis said "I want my sister and her friends to be freed first". The leader snorted before he began to laugh and Tali began to hack faster pausing briefly to check her progress and was relieved to find that she had made a cut in the plastic ties. Encouraged she pressed on.

"Sweetheart I am not stupid" the leader said as he moved round Alexis "I know that the moment those little brats are clear then mommy and daddy and the rest of their silly little team will be running in to catch us". Alexis stared at him as he moved round so that he was next to Livie and he reached out to touch her cheek; Livie squeezed her eyes shut trying to stay strong. Hating seeing her like that Tali cut at her bonds faster until to her relief she felt the cuffs snap and she was free. She remained where she was though, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Alexis was staring at the leader who was eyeing her looking almost bored, "give me the identities sweetheart" he repeated and his voice was harder now. Slowly Alexis looked at Tali, Livie and April before she took a deep breath and stepped towards the leader. Step by step she edged closer until she was standing in front of him.

Then she held out the briefcase and he took it from her opening it and lifting one of the files flipping it open. "Hmm" he said as he examined them "very good my dear, and I understand mommy and daddy and the rest of them stole all these… well they are very good but tut tut they shouldn't have stolen, don't they know that it is wrong to steal"

Alexis didn't respond, she just stared at him until he closed the files and pushed them back into the briefcase. "Well thank you very much for these my darling" he said smiling at Alexis

"You have what you want" Alexis said "now let them go". "Of course" he crooned "I after all have no further use for them". He looked at them all before the cruel smile widened "Kill them" he said "all of them".

Tali instantly reacted swinging one arm out to hit the guy holding her causing him to cry out in surprise and stagger away from her yanking his gun from his holster to point at her. But she spun her leg up knocking the gun out of his hand before she allowed the knife to slip into her hand and as he ran at her she slashed out at him causing a line of red to appear on his chest and him to fall backwards bellowing like a wounded bull.

The one holding Livie threw her towards one of the others and charged at her but she spun round him before striking him hard in the face as he turned to face her. Swearing he struck out at her but she leapt clear before she punched him in the gut forcing him to double over.

Just as she was about to fly at the next one she heard the leader scream "stop or she dies". Tali spun round to see that he had grabbed hold of Alexis and was holding a gun to her head as she struggled to get away.

Inside the van Kate let out a cry of "go go" and they all scrambled for the door, just as they were about to exit the van they heard Tali scream out "no wait, lekhakot, lekhakot"

Instantly Ziva spun round to look at the screen before she cried out "No stop", everyone stared at her. "What" Rick exclaimed "Tali told us to wait" Ziva said "that is what she said, 'lekhakot' means wait in Hebrew, that is why she said it, so I would understand, she doesn't want us coming up". Everyone stared at the screen at Tali standing there with her hands raised "are you sure about this Ziva" Gibbs asked "that is what she said" Ziva whispered. Cursing Booth threw himself into a seat staring at the screen, muttering their distaste everyone followed his lead leaving the door open ready to run out. Rick and Kate looked less than happy with this decision but grudgingly followed their lead. Ziva looked over at Tony who reached over to squeeze her hand "trust her" he whispered "we always have in the past, why should this time be any different". She nodded uncertainly to him before she took a deep breath and looked back at her daughter confronting the kidnappers.

Tali glared at the leader as she stood there with her with his gun jammed against Alexis' head; the young redhead had her eyes wide and was staring at Tali in fright, Livie was crying out in panic from behind and Tali could hear her struggling to get free.

"Now throw your knife away and get down on the ground you little brat" the leader snarled. Tali eyed him before she angrily before she tossed the knife into the dirt near his feet so that the blade sank into the ground and the hilt quivered from the force of her throw. Then she sank to her knees keeping her head held high as she glared at him. "You honestly think you will get away with this" she shouted "you know are parents are waiting, if you shoot me you won't have the chance to shoot the others, because they will be here to stop you before you shoot any of the others"

"You are a little brat" the leader snarled "I knew I should have killed you the moment I knew you were a cop kid, I should have put a bullet straight through your skull there and then". Tali stared at him "well it is your fault that this will all go south" she said breathing heavily allowing her hand to twitch back towards her boot. "Oh I am so going to enjoy watching you die" he snarled raising the gun to point at her "fine" Tali snarled "I will die happily knowing that my parents will be coming here in a minute to put a bullet in your skull, they should be ready"

"Get ready" Ziva said quietly and pulled her gun out of the holster flicking the safety off as she kept her eyes on the screen. Slowly everyone rose edging towards the door ready to jump out at Tali's next signal.

"Shut up" the leader snarled as he struggled to hold onto Alexis, "stop it" he snapped looking away from Tali briefly to snap at his captive. And in those brief seconds his eyes were not on her and Alexis' were Tali jabbed her hand towards the ground staring at Alexis who nodded before he looked back at Tali "you ready child" he asked. Tali gave him a withering look "see you in hell" she said "I'll save a shot for you" "don't miss" he sneered back

"Oh … I don't plan too" Tali said before she shouted "now"

Instantly Ziva let out a cry as she recognised her daughters signal and instantly everyone was running out of the van and up towards the grave at the same time Alexis yanked herself down out of the way as Tali drew her spare knife from her boot. As the leader made to aim his gun at Alexis, she flung her arm upward flicking the knife at it and it buried itself into his shoulder.

He let out a roar of pain staggering backwards as Tali leapt to her feet running towards him and yanking Alexis free. "Go" she shouted "take cover" then as Alexis dove behind a grave stone she felt the leader grab for her but she ducked forward grabbing her knife from the ground before she straightened up instantly snapping her leg up to strike him in the throat sending him crumpling back.

Before he had even hit the floor Tali was running straight at the men holding April and Livie. As she ran she shouted Livie get down and her friend instantly folded just like her sister so that Tali could dive at her captor sending them all three of them sprawling to the ground. Livie managed to wrestle herself free, rolling clear. Tali struck out at the captor frantically feeling her anger beginning to take over, she leapt to her feet grabbing Livie and yanking her up before she cut through her bonds hurriedly and then she threw herself at April and her captor. April was already struggling and as Tali ran forward April twisted free before she kicked her captor hard in the crotch causing him to swear and double over groaning, gasping Tali jammed her elbow into the back of his neck sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Nice shot" April gasped "thanks" Tali gasped grabbing her bound wrists to cut through them as Livie came running over "you ok" she asked and they both nodded gasping. At that moment Tali heard a click and a growl of "don't you dare move", she sighed looking at April who was opposite her "distance" she asked, April's eyes flicked up before they landed back on her "two arms lengths" she said. Tali considered it, "I can make that" she said and instantly she turned and ran at the guy. He raised his gun taking but she had already leapt at him grabbing the barrel and was forcing it away from herself and her friends shouting at them to take cover desperate for them not to get hurt as her anger and every bit of training she had began to take over.

He was strong though and he threw her away but she leapt at him again this time with her knife raised and as she saw his finger tighten on the trigger she dove at him. She heard the shot but by then she had already leapt past the barrel and had slashed at him with her knife cutting him in the side before she threw him away.

Two more of them moved forward, she allowed them to draw close before she swung round using the force of her swing to knock the gun out of one of their hands before she pushed him aside, as he staggered back she turned to the other, grabbing the barrel of his long gun yanking it down, kneeing him in the stomach before knocking him to the ground.

She fell to the ground twisting, slinging her leg out to knock the first robber to the floor, then she was up, looking around for the next danger.

The other robbers were more sensible, they just brought their weapons up to point at her and Tali knew she couldn't take them on so she turned and ran bending to grab a dropped gun before diving behind a gravestone as the sound of the semi automatics filled her ears and bits of stone exploded off of the graves. Looking over she saw April crouched behind the next gravestone her arms covering her head and Alexis and Livie crouched behind two others on her other side.

"Well impressive fighting skills" April shouted "but what do you have planned for now" "um" Tali said hearing the bullets burying themselves into their shelters. "You don't have a plan" April cried "hey I am making this all up as I go along" Tali retorted as she ducked as a huge chunk of stone flew off of her shelter and she knew that their shelters wouldn't last much longer.

"Come on mom" she muttered before she stuck her head out assessing the scene before she ducked back and then took a deep breath lifting her head and drawing her weapon firing frantically at the robbers and she heard a yell of pain.

"What are you doing" April yelled "you aren't going to kill anyone are you" "wasn't planning to unless I don't have another choice" Tali said "I have pretty strong views about killing unless it is necessary" she added before she brought the gun up and fired two shots and there was a cry of pain, looking up April saw two of the men lying on the ground clutching his knee.

"My view on kneecapping is a bit more flexible though" Tali added and as she took aim at the next one shooting one more down more gunshots rang out and there was a shout of "freeze show us your hands" and their parents come sprinting into view.

Some of the robbers turned and tried to open fire on the approaching cops but Ziva had already fired, shooting one of the men, sending him falling to the ground and Booth and Gibbs shot two more. That was all the encouragement the other robbers needed to try and flee; Kate sprinted forward and sent one of them sprawling to the floor as she lunged for him. Ziva followed her lead taking out another one ignoring his struggles. By the time she had cuffed his hands behind her back and looked over every robber in sight was cuffed and everyone was panting

Ziva staggered to her feet instantly turning around "Tali" she gasped "Tali". "Mom" she heard and she looked over to see Tali staggering upright, Ziva stared at her in shock; she looked awful, bruised and battered with a black eye and a split lip and cuts all up and down her cheeks, her hair was ragged yet her eyes were burning with anger. Slowly Ziva stepped forward before she broke into a run and pulled her daughter into a hug.

She saw April leap up and run at her dad who scooped her up into his arms. Livie and Alexis leapt up too and Livie hurled herself into her mother's arms and Kate let out a moan of relief "oh god Livie" she whispered "god you had me worried". Livie clung to her mother tightly as Rick clung to Alexis "you are never ever leaving my sight again" he growled hugging her protectively.

Ziva looked back at Tali who pulled away breathing hard "mom, dad" she whispered "Tali" she whispered "thank god you are ok", Tali stared at her before she looked at the kidnappers and then her eyes widened as she leapt away "where's the leader" she gasped "where is he".

They all whirled round searching for any sight of him, then Ziva spotted him stumbling away clutching at his shoulder. "No Tali" Tony shouted and she saw her daughter running after him her knife clutched in her hand.

They all took off after her shouting but Tali wasn't to be stopped. The leader's injury made it difficult for him to run and it wasn't long before Tali caught up and she let out a scream of anger as she threw herself at him and they both fell to the ground. The leader let out a snarl and instantly threw Tali off of him. She let out a furious growl and leapt at him again but he struck her hard and threw her away so that she was thrown against a gravestone and she gasped winded before she began to try and struggle up. The leader staggered to his feet and kicked her hard in the stomach making her cry out and roll onto her back. He grabbed her and pushed her into the ground grabbing her throat and he began to choke her.

"No" Tony shouted and forced himself to run faster before he lunged for him and slammed into him throwing him off of his daughter. Tali instantly rolled over coughing as she staggered to her feet and ran at him with her knife raised, her eyes burning with anger. "Tali no" Tony shouted grabbing her, "no" she screamed as she began to struggle "let me go dad" "Tali stop" Tony shouted "you have to stop". He saw Kate slip past and grab the leader rolling him onto his front to cuff him; "hello Kate" he groaned "make sure you cuff that kid, she has done some damage" "shut up you asshole or I will make sure you invoke your right to remain silent" Kate snapped back

He chuckled as she cuffed his wrists more tightly than intended before she yanked him to his feet. Tony staggered as Tali yanked angrily "Tali" he cried "stop" "no" she cried "let me go, I want to kill him, he deserves to die for what he has done"

"Tali no we are going to make him suffer" Tony gasped "no he doesn't deserve to live… he killed her, he killed Blair". "Whoa" Tony shouted "Tali no you have it all wrong"

Tali let out a growl and continued to struggle; her eyes were fixed on the leader who was staring at her with an evil smirk on his face. Tali let out another growl and squirmed and Tony swore as she wriggled free, instantly he lunged for her again at the same time McGee managed to catch hold of her "Tali" he shouted "stop you don't understand" "he killed her" she screamed fighting to get away as Tony grabbed for her "she didn't deserve to die, she died because of me, it shouldn't have been her, it should have been me" she let out a sob "I'm sorry Timmy" she cried and began to struggle again. Tony caught hold of her wrapping his arms around her and she buried her head into his shoulder crying loudly though she still continued to fight.

"Tali" Tony said softly "Tali Blair isn't dead" she let out a sob "yes she is" she whimpered and they could all see the tears streaming down her cheeks "he showed me the footage, the news footage that talked about her death"

"Tali Blair isn't dead" Tony cried begging her to understand, hating seeing her like this as Ziva came forward pain in her eyes. "We faked it ok; we told the press she was dead". He crouched in front of her encouraging her to look into his eyes hoping she would see the truth "Tali Blair is alive". Tali stared at him, her greenie gold eyes wide and confused "she's alive" she whispered "yes" he said, she let out a small sob and her breathing got faster. "You promise" she half sobbed "you promise she is alive". Tony nodded and looked at McGee who gently reached out to touch her arm "yeah she's alive" he said "and she is really eager to see you, she has been so worried about you"

Tali stared at him "really" she whispered and she looked around for conformation and everyone nodded encouragingly at her. Tony looked at the leader who looked slightly angry "yeah" he said "you failed… someone get him out of here" Booth moved over and grabbed him and yanked him up the hill towards the road where they could hear the sounds of sirens approaching.

He turned his attention back to Tali who was looking around looking shocked and exhausted "did I … kill anyone" she asked worriedly as though she had only just realised what she had done. "No sweetheart" Tony whispered reaching up to brush hair out of her face "though I am interested to know where you learnt to knee cap" she let out a watery laugh "Mossad taught me… more than you realise" she whispered with a small smile, "why did you like those moves"

Tony gave her a cheeky smile "well lets just say if we put you and River Tam in a fight together then you might give River Tam a run for her money now" Tali let out another watery laugh. "River Tam" April asked looking confused. "Isn't that the character from Firefly" Rick asked "and the movie Serenity" Tony added "good series and movie" "yeah" Rick mused "it certainly was shiny"

Tali let out another watery sob before she looked around suddenly anxious "shh Tali" Ziva whispered reaching out to stroke her daughter's cheek "it is over my aheva relax". Tali looked at her "it's over" she whispered and Ziva nodded.

Tali looked around again and a small smile spread across her face "it's over" she repeated.

Then she collapsed to the floor.

**Haha another cliffhanger :P I know I am cruel.**

**If you want to find out what happens soon then please review or give feedback – that sort of stuff encourages me to get down to it and prepare the next chapter.**

**Anyway please review**

**Thanks again.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone thanks for all the reviews, would love some more. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 13

Tony yelped as he leapt forward to catch his daughter before she hit the floor. "Tali" he gasped "Tali… Tali wake up ninja wake up" Ziva was crouching beside him calling out to her daughter too urgently.

"Tali" Livie cried as she and April fell down next to their friend too "oh god what's wrong with her, did she get shot" Livie asked frantically. Gibbs came running over at that moment and instantly reached out, placing two fingers to Tali's neck "she's ok" he said "it just overwhelmed her, but I think we should get her to a hospital, well I think we should get you all to the hospital" he added looking at them all.

Tony sighed in relief as he bent and lifted his daughter into his arms looking down at her bruised and beaten, her head lolling against his chest. "You always like to do things with a bang don't you ninja" he murmured as he carried her down the hill.

As he did so he was suddenly overwhelmed with a realisation at how similar this moment was to ones many years ago, when Tali was only little and they would take her to the park or the zoo or somewhere fun for the day and on the way home Tali would pass out suddenly exhausted after her exciting day. And every time when they arrived home, Tony would lift his daughter into his arms and carry her up to their apartment with her half asleep in his arms.

He looked down at her now and suddenly saw his sweet innocent five year old again clutching toys after a day at the zoo, eyelids fluttering as she made a determined effort to stay awake but without much luck. He blinked and the image disappeared and his Tali appeared again, his little ninja Tali. It had been many years since he had had to carry her like this and to him it felt like no time had passed, she didn't feel any heavier or bigger than she had all those years ago.

He smiled as he slid into the car with her and Ziva laying her across the back seats, he knew that it didn't feel any different because to him it never would be any different. No matter how old Tali got, she would always be his little girl. Always and Forever.

XO

When they arrived at the hospital Tony slid Tali back into his arms before he turned and followed McGee into the hospital with Ziva at his side and the others right behind him. McGee ran over to a doctor and quickly said something to him before he led him over to where the others were waiting. "This is Blair's doctor" he explained "he said he will look at the other girl", everyone nodded gratefully to him and he nodded back before his eyes fell on the unconscious Tali. "Good gracious" he exclaimed "what happened to her"

"She collapsed" Tony explained "she is ok, I think everything just caught up with her and overwhelmed her, she thought her friend was dead". "Ah" the doctor said with a nod "this must be the girl that Blair McGee has been worrying about, Tali, am I correct" Tony nodded looking down at his still unconscious daughter.

"Here I'll find a gurney" the doctor said "no don't worry about it I got her" Tony said "can we just get them all checked out". The doctor nodded "come with me" he said and led them towards the elevator. As he turned around Tony looked over at Ziva who was gently brushing hair out of Tali's eyes before she looked up at him "you aren't planning to let her go any time soon are you" she said softly. Tony smiled weakly and shook his head "nope" he responded and looked around the elevator "I don't think anyone is planning to let their daughter go any time soon".

Ziva followed his gaze and smiled when she saw April leaning against her dad, Livie cuddled up to her mom and Alexis with her arms wrapped round her dad "I think you might be right there" she murmured and leaned against him until the elevator doors opened and they headed down the hall after the doctor.

XO

Blair shifted uncomfortably in her bed and sighed, she sat still for a second before she began to shift again. In the chair beside her bed Abby watched her uncertainly "are you sure you haven't heard anything" Blair asked and Abby sighed "for the sixth time Blair no" she held up her phone with a smile "see no new messages, as soon as I know you will know ok". Blair nodded "you should have heard something by now right, I mean the whole thing started an hour ago, it should be over by now right Abby"

Abby shrugged "I don't know how long these sorts of things last Blair, I am a lab geek remember", Blair looked at her "but Tali has been in this situation before right", Abby shook her head "Nope not really, well sorta but … ah I don't know". Blair sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "they will be ok right Abby".

Gently Abby reached out to touch her hand "hey" she said "this is Tali we are talking about; the super ninja, of course she will be fine, she is invincible" Blair gave a small smile before she looked away "no one is invincible Abby" she whispered.

She sat in silence for a few minutes before she groaned and changed her position again, before she glanced back at Abby with a huff. "Did you by any chance bring a change of clothes? This hospital gown is the most uncomfortable thing ever, ugh it keeps getting twisted." Abby grinned at her complaint and the face she was pulling, before she got up from her chair and moved over to the couch where they'd put the bag holding some of Blair's things. She pulled out a top and a pair of sweat pants, chucking them back over onto the bed. "Thank you!" Blair exclaimed, putting them on and throwing her gown at the end of the bed. She settled herself back down underneath her blanket.

She didn't speak for a moment before she looked back at Abby and shifted impatiently "can I get up again Abby please" "no Blair" Abby warned "the doctor gave you specific instructions not to, last time you ripped your stitches remember" "yeah I remember but I hate lying still" Blair whined "really I hadn't noticed" Abby said dryly, "come on Blair lie still, the less moving you do the sooner you will get better"

Blair gave her a look that plainly said she didn't believe her, but just as she opened her mouth to retort they heard familiar voices in the corridor, they heard Blair's doctor and then another voice respond "no I got her ok I got her"

Blair's head instantly snapped up "Tony" she gasped and she hauled herself into a sitting position and swung her legs out of the bed. That was when her doctor appeared in the window to her room looking back, and then Tony appeared cradling someone tight in his arms, someone who wasn't moving.

Blair let out a gasp as she saw Tali limp in her father's arms, one of her arms dangled down moving in rhythm with her fathers gait and her legs swung limply too. Her head was resting against his chest and her eyes were closed. Blair couldn't see any life in her. She could see injuries though, a blackened eye, a split lip and many bruises and cuts dotted across her visible skin.

Blair stared in horror as Tony paused talking to the doctor urgently before he moved off and Ziva followed looking worried. Behind her came April, Livie and Alexis and their families and they all followed Tony and the doctor out of sight.

Blair gasped in shock "Tali" she gasped and leapt out of the bed and staggered to the doorway. That was when Gibbs appeared in the doorway and he quickly caught hold of her and pushed her backwards back into the room and onto her bed "Blair get back into bed" he said firmly "Tali" she gasped again "what happened, why isn't she moving". She looked up at Gibbs and felt tears appear in her eyes "why wasn't she moving" she repeated "she's not…"

"Blair" Gibbs said firmly as he caught hold of her "she is fine ok… I promise you she is fine, they all are, we got there, things went a bit haywire but we sorted it out and everyone is fine", Blair stared at him "what happened to Tali" she asked "she took out half the guys whilst we were trying to get there, chased after the leader in a pure rage and well she was mad, we had to drag her away from him, she was trying to kill him because she thought he had killed you"

Blair frowned "she was worried about me" she said "she thought I was dead and she was mad" Gibbs nodded touching her cheek "she wanted to kill that guy for killing you, she had a knife out and everything", Blair ducked her head before she looked back up at him "why is she unconscious" she asked, Gibbs smiled "after we convinced her to calm down, everything just caught up to her, the fear, the pain, the exhaustion and she just collapsed overwhelmed"

Blair stared at him as he looked at her "Blair trust me" he said gently "she is going to be fine, would we all be this calm if she wasn't?" Slowly Blair shook her head and settled back down before she straightened again "can I see her" she asked "and April and Livie, I want to know that they are ok". Gibbs smiled "right now Blair they are being checked out, then April and Livie are going to be put in a room and told to sleep. They are fine apart from being sleep deprived as far as I know. Once they have recovered you can see them Blair, they want to see you as much as you want to see them but right now they need rest ok"

Blair nodded slowly before she slumped back down against her pillows and glanced at Abby who smiled encouragingly at her "see told you Tali is invincible" she said and Blair smiled. "You should rest too Blair" Gibbs said. "No I don't want to" Blair began but he cut her off "we will wake you as soon as there is any news ok". She paused before she grudgingly nodded and settled down.

As she did so she felt the worry and fear that had been building up in her chest slowly slip away to be replaced with relief; Tali would be fine; she had survived; they all had. And with that thought in her mind she slowly drifted off to sleep.

XO

Tali mumbled as she felt herself begin to wake up stirring uncertainly, before she froze and she instantly began to assess her situation trying to figure out if she could hear anything dangerous. She stirred slowly again before she heard movement beside her and she paused until she felt someone gently take her hand and a very familiar voice gently called out "Tali, aheva can you hear me"

Very slowly she opened her eyes and looked around to see that she was lying in a hospital bed propped up against the pillows. Slowly she looked around blinking groggily before she winced at the movement, everywhere ached like crazy and it hurt to move.

"Tali" she heard someone whisper again and slowly she turned her head to see her mother sitting in the chair besides her gripping her hand. "Ima" she croaked out, her mother smiled at her before she rose to her feet and bent over to hug her "oh Tali I have been so worried" she whispered as she hugged her tightly. Tali clung to her for a minute savouring the moment of familiarity before she swallowed and took a deep breath "what happened, how did I get here, are Livie and April ok, what about… Blair"

"Hush aheva" Ziva whispered and pulled away to look her daughter in the eye "calm down everything is ok I promise". Tali stared at her before seeing that her eyes were truthful, slowly she leaned forward and hugged her mother again feeling her enclose her arms around her, holding her tightly and for a moment the two of them stayed like that before Tali mumbled "what happened".

It took Ziva a minute or two to respond and when she did she pulled away to look at her daughter "what do you remember aheva" she asked. Tali thought closing her eyes, trying to remember. "not much" she whispered "I remember the graveyard… he had Alexis" she paused frowning before she opened her eyes and put her hand to her head "the rest is just a lot of red, I remember fighting, throwing knives… something to do with a gun and chasing someone"

Ziva nodded "yes" she whispered "that is pretty much it tateleh" Tali leaned back against her pillows. "How'd I get here" she asked and Ziva smiled gently. "After you took down the leader you collapsed so we rushed you and the other three here, to the hospital where you were all checked out, you were all fine, no permanent damage, April had a bruised larynx, Livie has been having adverse reactions to the drugs you were given and a cracked rib and you had a concussion, and two cracked ribs"

Tali smiled weakly "I guess we were the lucky ones" she whispered, Ziva nodded as she settled herself on the edge of her daughter's bed smiling as she stroked Tali's hair. "Where's dad" Tali asked eventually "with Gibbs" Ziva murmured "getting himself checked out" Tali looked at her with wide eyes "what" she gasped "he got hurt". "He's ok aheva" Ziva soothed "he and McGee ran into the bank after the bomb exploded to get Blair. It was on fire and he refused to go to the hospital until he found you" Tali smiled relieved and cuddled back into Ziva's chest for a few minutes before she looked up at her and Ziva could see sudden worry in her eyes. "What about Blair" she whispered and Ziva could tell she had been refraining from asking that again since she hadn't got an answer the first time.

Before she could respond though the door opened and Tony walked in looking tired and worried. He stopped when he saw Tali though looking up at him and the worry was replaced by relief and joy "hey there my ninja" he murmured. Tali smiled as she shifted into a sitting position "hey daddy" she whispered.

Tony smiled and moved forwards leaning over to pull her into a hug and Ziva saw the relief intensify as he held her in his arms and Tali hugged him back snuggling against his chest. Tony met her gaze and smiled gently and she returned the gesture happily.

Eventually Tony pulled back to look at Tali who smiled at him encouragingly trying to reassure him that she was ok, but that didn't stop him from staring at her, checking for himself that she was ok. "How you feeling" he eventually asked and Tali grinned "sore and achy but alive" she said leaning back "so when can I get out of bed" Tony laughed "I don't think you have to stay in that long ninja" he said grinning at her.

Just then the door opened and Gibbs appeared, his smile widened as he saw Tali awake and she grinned back "hi Gibbs" she said "hey shortcake good to see you awake" he said as he moved towards her to give her a hug. Tali hugged him back happily "man did I worry you guys or something" she asked, her dad gave her a look "oh just a little bit" he said "you just collapsed right in front of us, we thought you had been shot" Tali smiled "two bullets is enough for me thanks" she said with a smile and everyone smiled weakly back.

"So are you feeling up for a visit" Gibbs asked and Tali nodded eagerly "who's out there" she asked. Gibbs shook his head "no you are going for a visit" he said, Tali stared at him confused before her eyes widened with realisation "I can go see…" she trailed off and he nodded "you ready" he asked. Tali paused before she nodded uncertainly and slowly swung her legs out of the bed and slipped off, she caught hold of her father's arm which moved to steady her as she swayed. She stood for a minute before she looked up into his concerned face and nodded before she took a small step forward, he stayed next to her ready to catch her should she falter.

Tali followed Gibbs down the hall suddenly feeling nervous, what if she suddenly didn't want to see her? What if she hated her for getting her shot? What if she still blamed her for everything? They came to a stop outside of a door and Gibbs turned to look at Tali before he smiled at her "don't you worry" he said "it'll be fine". She nodded and took a deep breath as he knocked gently before he opened the door.

Tali entered uncertainly after Gibbs with her parents right behind her and she paused once she was in. The first thing she saw was Tim and Abby sitting beside the bed, holding hands she noticed; they were both smiling at her relieved that she was ok. The next thing she saw was the bed surrounded by machines and for a moment she panicked before she noticed that most of them were switched off. Then she saw the person sitting in the bed.

Blair was sitting propped up against the pillows wearing a baggy t shirt covered with the blankets, her dark brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail though wisps were already escaping and were framing her face. She was very pale and looked exhausted and worried. Her eyes were fixed on Tali as she stood there and Tali saw them change from anxious to relieved.

Slowly Tali took a small step forward towards her staring at her in amazement, she moved forward until she was standing next to the bed and then she paused unsure of what to do next.

Blair looked at her, her eyes travelled up and down her evaluating her before a small smile slipped onto her face. "Hey DiNozzo" she murmured. Tali smiled and blinked furiously as she felt her eyes water "Blair" she whispered and the older girl nodded "duh" she whispered.

"Hey Tim, Abby how about we get a coffee or something" Tony suggested and both McGee and Abby nodded and leapt up. "That ok with you two" Tony asked, Blair nodded and Tali mimicked her numbly, "thanks Tony" Blair mumbled and Tali saw her dad wink before he moved over and gently pushed Tali into a chair "since you are meant to be resting" he said "I think you had better sit". Tali smiled weakly and looked up at him gratefully, he winked at her before he gently kissed the top of her had and then slipped out after the others shutting the door behind him.

At first neither of them spoke, Tali just ducked her head and played with her fingernails not knowing what to say. When she looked up she saw that Blair had her head bowed too playing with the blanket. Eventually Tali mumbled "thanks" and Blair looked up slowly "for what" she asked, slowly Tali met her gaze "for saving my life" she said softly. Blair hesitated before she nodded "ditto" she said softly "the paramedics said that if you hadn't slowed the bleeding then I wouldn't have made it" Tali smiled "I guess we are even then" she said "yeah" Blair said and there was a pause before she added "so I hear I missed out on all the fun, and I missed seeing you in true ninja mode, shame I always miss the good things and it would have been nice to see ninja mode without it being directed at me"

Tali let out a small laugh which ended in a small sob before she ducked her head and Blair frowned suddenly worried "hey what's up" she asked "are you in pain". "No" Tali said and lifted her head her eyes still shining "oh god Blair I was so worried, I thought you were dead"

Blair stared at her "I'm ok Tali" she mumbled uncertainly as Tali stared at her "he bragged about it" she whispered "he came in and showed us the footage that said you had died in the explosion after being fatally wounded, god I thought it was real, he told me it was my fault and I believed it was, I thought you had died trying to save me and I felt so bad, so guilty that Timmy had lost you and I was so angry at him for what he had done" she paused and another small sob slipped through her clenched jaw before she looked up at Blair who was staring at her and there were tears shining in her eyes too.

Tali stared at Blair before she suddenly stood and leaned forward and flung her arms around Blair hugging her tightly. She felt Blair stiffen in surprise before slowly she wrapped her arms around Tali and hugged her back. "It's ok Tali" she whispered uncertainly "I'm ok… I made it", Tali was silent for a few minutes before she slowly looked up "how the hell did you survive" she asked "the news footage made it look like the whole building had been destroyed"

Blair smiled weakly at her "it was, but before they blew it up I managed to drag myself behind a stone counter, I barely made it before the bomb detonated, it was really hot and loud. The next thing I knew my legs were pinned by a piece of ceiling and the building was on fire, I couldn't move. But I heard someone calling my name and I … banged a pipe against a cabinet to get their attention, it was your dad and my dad, they ran into the burning building to find me, they dragged the ceiling off of me and carried me out, the building caved in not long after, if they hadn't … I wouldn't have made it"

Blair paused and her pause allowed that to sink in and they both realised how close to death they had come before Blair sighed "next thing I knew I was here, and you were missing… and I didn't know if I would see you again" Tali looked up at her suddenly uncertainly "and that concerned you" she asked. Blair paused looking at her unsure of what to say before she nodded.

Tali smiled "I guess we are calling it truce then" she said softly, Blair rolled her eyes "well I suppose whilst I was lying bleeding out on the ground I did say if we survived … we could give it a go" Tali smiled "well our parents will be relieved". Blair smirked "are we going to tell them or have some fun" Tali gave her a look.

Before they could do anything else the door to the room burst open with a crash making them both jump startled as Livie and April came rushing in. "Oh my gosh Tali Blair thank god you two are ok" Livie gasped and Tali smiled as she leapt up opening her arms before she nearly got thrown backwards as Livie crashed into her hugging her tightly "er Livs" she mumbled "yeah" Livie asked "um I can't breathe and you're squeezing my cracked rib"

"Oh sorry" Livie said quickly releasing her before she quickly gave her a much gentler hug which Tali returned as April hugged Blair gently before they swapped. "So how are you doing" Tali asked looking at them, April had bruises around her throat where the leader had grabbed her and throttled her when they were in the cell and Livie looked pale and tired. They both shrugged "I am hoping I stop throwing up soon" Livie said "it's kinda annoying when you are really hungry cus you haven't eaten in so long but you can't hold the food you are given down" Tali smiled sympathetically "food sounds nice" she mused as her stomach growled and they all smiled. Tali slowly sat herself back on the edge of Blair's bed before Blair shifted over allowing her to slip up next to her and Tali and Livie and April sat on the edge next to them.

Livie smiled as she looked at Blair and Tali sitting there "have you two finally stopped fighting" she asked, they both smiled almost identical smiles of knowing. Livie looked at April and grinned happily as April winked.

Just then Tony, Ziva, Tim and Abby all appeared in the doorway "whoa" Tony said stopping in surprise "they've multiplied". All four of the girls grinned at them "wow that looks snug" Abby said as she looked at them all scrunched up together on the bed, "oh it is" April said smiling at them.

Tony moved over and dropped into a chair and Ziva followed looking at her daughter settled on the bed next to Blair, their shoulders touching; she noticed how they suddenly seemed comfortable being close to each other, they weren't stiff and sour with each other, they just seemed relaxed and accepting of each other.

She looked at Tony who was watching them too then he looked over and met her gaze winking at her and she smiled at him as Abby and McGee went and settled on the chairs next to the bed and began to talk to the girls who sat there grinning at them. Gibbs walked in just then with his usual coffee in his hand. He too looked at the four girls on the bed and a smile slipped onto his face when he saw Blair and Tali together.

"Hiya Gibbs" they both said together "hey shortcake, hey flicka" he said moving over to gently kiss them on them on the forehead, he smiled at Livie and April "how are you two" he asked, they both nodded at him "eager to get discharged" April said and he chuckled "not long for you" he said before he looked at Livie "probably longer for you unless you get over your adverse reaction" Livie pulled a face.

"Wait how long have we been here" Tali asked frowning "you arrived yesterday afternoon" Gibbs said "it is nearly 1400 hours now". "Lazy bones you slept nearly a whole day" Livie teased and laughed as Tali gave her a playful shove and nearly fell off of Blair's bed.

More visitors arrived then in the form of Kate, Rick and Alexis who rushed over to hug them all and the five of them all hugged each other back before they broke apart to accept hugs from the adults who greeted them happily.

"So what happened to the robbers" Tali asked when the reunion had ended and they were all settled in chairs or perched on the bed "oh they will be going to prison with multiple life sentences and no chance in hell at getting parole" Tony said with a smile. "Good" April said "they deserve it" "I'll say" Livie added making them all smile.

The doctors came in then and gave the five girls sitting on the bed reproachful looks before they proceeded to give them all an examination. Tali sat patiently on the edge of the bed as the doctor shone a light in her eyes peering at her "how are you feeling Tali" he asked "sore" Tali said. "Any headache, numbness, nausea" he asked "little bit of a headache" Tali said as he took her blood pressure "no numbness or nausea though" she added. The doctor nodded and made a note on his clipboard "any dizziness" he asked, Tali shrugged "when I stood up too fast" she said swinging her legs back and forth, again he nodded before he checked out her other injuries before stepping back. "Well Tali" he said "you seem to be recovering nicely which is very good though I think we will keep you in a couple more days just to be on the safe side"

Tali groaned loudly and scowled "yeah know the feeling" Blair muttered grumpily from where she was having her stitches checked and all the adults smirked. They waited until the doctors had finished and had given all of the girls some advice and told them that they would bring them all up some food and had left before they all looked at Gibbs who glanced around before he leaned forward.

"Tali" he said softly and she looked up at him "can you answer some questions shortcake; we need to know what happened so that we can use it to sentence these men". Tali hesitated before she nodded "what do you want to know" she asked gently looking at Livie and April who both shifted closer to her.

"Can you tell us what you can remember" Gibbs asked "as much as you can". Tali nodded and launched into a description "well as you know they came in and shot the security guard and they moved around collecting the money they wanted and then they started talking to you Kate and at first we were fine". "So they didn't hurt you or anything" Kate asked, Tali shook her head "nope once you made him promise not to touch us he backed off anyway everything was fine until the news report came on"

She ducked her head "to say he was mad is an understatement" she commented and the other three nodded in agreement "he grabbed us and pulled us away from the others and started hitting us one by one, but I leapt up and said it was me before he could hurt anyone too bad"

"Why did you leap up" Tony asked looking at his daughter "cuz she's crazy" Blair piped up, her eyes sparkling and Tony rolled his eyes. Tali scowled playfully at her before she shrugged "the news only said 'at least one cop kid' I didn't want the others to get hurt so I thought might as well save them" she looked at Blair "I didn't plan on her standing up next to me" Blair smiled "couldn't let you have all the fun without me" she said and Tali rolled her eyes.

Gibbs nodded at them before he asked "what happened after you were thrown in the van" he asked. It was April who answered, her voice was quiet at first but it got stronger as she spoke, "they knocked Tali out because she was refusing to leave Blair, they had hit Livie too, when they discovered she was Kate's daughter" she looked up at them all "they drove for a while, I tried to remember the route but I couldn't, then they gave Livie and I an injection and everything went black, I don't remember much after that, I just woke up in a cell"

Livie took over as she dropped her head and began to twist her hands nervously in her lap "we were placed in a cell in the centre of a room, I don't know why it was there, could have been some sort of old police station or something" she paused to gather her thoughts. "There were tables around the outside of the cell with lots of plans on them, I think they were plans of the banks they were robbing, it was cold and we had our arms bound behind our backs and it hurt, I don't know how long we were there but it was a while before Tali woke up, we were getting worried, she had been out for a long time"

Tali rolled her eyes "as I said takes more than a bump on the head to take me out" the other two both smiled at her "he came in then talking to you Kate" Tali said "once he had finished he showed how mad he was, he got mad at April cus she had lied to him the most, then he started talking to me, he knew that I was the granddaughter of the Director of Mossad and when I told him that he could use that as a weapon he told me I had better be careful then cus I had just made my life less valuable to him"

She ducked her head then "he left us alone for a while and then he came back and showed us the news footage… about the building being destroyed and… how Blair … had died" she paused and looked at Blair who met her gaze and gave a small smile "takes more than a burning building to knock me out" she said softly and a tiny smile cracked onto Tali's face before she looked at Gibbs. "What else do you want to know" she asked and Gibbs looked at her solemnly "did they hurt you" he asked "or do anything else to you". Everyone felt relieved when they all shook their heads "nothing permanent" Livie mumbled looking around at them all.

That was when Brennan appeared with Libby clinging to her hand. The moment she saw April she let out a squeal of excitement and rushed forward. April grinned as she slid off of the bed to crouch down and scoop her little sister up into a big hug "hey there baby girl" she said cuddling her close and they all saw her close her eyes, savouring the contact she had feared she would never get again. "April" Libby mumbled burrowing her head into the crook of April's neck "who else munchkin" April teased as she grinned up at her mom who was smiling at her "where's dad" she asked "sorting everything out" Brennan responded "getting Angela to sort out the identities again, putting them back where they came from, having those men sentenced and probably getting his ass whipped by his boss for disobeying orders, that or getting commended for catching one of the biggest gangs of robbers around"

"I hope it's the latter" April commented as she settled back on the edge of the bed with Libby still clinging to her, the five year old suddenly pulled away to look at her. "Where were you April" she demanded "you were gone and Livie and Tali and Blair, you were all gone" April hesitated looking at her little sister "I was… busy kiddo" she said softly "doing what" she asked and April faltered. It was Blair who saved her "we were having a big girl sleepover" she said "you know watching movies and being silly" she smiled at the little girl who pulled away to consider her "oh" she said "well then why are you in the hospital cus this is where sick people go" Blair smiled weakly "we were very silly" she said and Libby frowned before she looked around at the five girls "don't be silly" she commanded and everyone chuckled "yes please don't be silly again" Tony said fixing Tali with a look.

Tali gave him a cheeky smile and shrugged "I'll try" she said "but you know me dad I just can't seem to stop getting into silly situations" Tony rolled his eyes "yeah don't I know it" he muttered.

They stayed like that until the visiting hours ended and Blair's doctor came in, he looked at Tali as she slipped off the bed before he said "how would you feel if we moved you into this room Miss DiNozzo, that way it would be easier for us to monitor you both". Tali and Blair both looked at each other before Blair shrugged "suppose we had better get used to being around each other" Blair said. Tali shrugged too "yeah and stop arguing and learning how to stop annoying each other" she said "that might take a while" Blair said narrowing her eyes at each her and Tali scowled back at her.

Tony gave a mock sigh "and here I was hoping that things would be easy from now on" he said looking at the two of them "seriously you two save each other's lives and then just go back to how things were before". They looked at him and shrugged "trust is made of building blocks" Blair said "you built a wall with them" Tony said "ah but did we use correct cement" Tali said looking at him and he groaned again as a bed for Tali was brought in.

Laughing Tali headed over to the bed and clambered slowly in lying herself down under the bed covers watching her family, Gibbs was watching Blair who was talking to Abby and McGee who were still sitting very close so that they were touching, that made Tali smile. She looked at her own parents sitting on the sofa talking quietly before they both looked at her and smiled, Tali grinned back relieved to be with them again.

Eventually they heard the sound of the nurses making their pre-bedtime rounds and all the adults looked at each other "who's staying" Tony asked "none of you" Tali said and they all looked at each her. "Seriously guys none of you look like you have slept in days or you have been sleeping in chairs which isn't very good for you, dad, Tim, you both ran into a burning building and were told to rest but you haven't and mom I think AJ could seriously do with some TLC and I want to see him tomorrow so all of you go home and get some sleep"

"Are you sure" Tony asked doubtfully "will you be ok" "yes" Tali said and she glanced at Blair "we aren't exactly alone". The adults eyed them and Blair sighed "don't worry we won't kill each other, well it is not like I can get out of bed easily to do so" Tim gave her a meaningful look and she smirked "kidding guys jeez no sense of humour round here today huh"

Smiling they all said their goodbyes hugging everyone tightly before they all backed out and Tali saw her dad eye them both curiously before he closed the door and the two of them were left alone.

Tali slowly settled herself down under the blankets before she looked over at Blair who was settling down also, she looked up and they met each other's eye and smiled awkwardly before looking away as the nurses came in to check them over and give them some medication before they were told to sleep.

Once the light was out they both lay in silence for a while before Blair called out sleepily "Tali"

"Mmm" Tali mumbled "if we do start anew" she said "can we try not get into any more trouble" Tali smirked into her pillow "sounds good" she said "I think my file is thick enough as it is" "oh yes definitely" Blair said "think you could make a book out of it or a series of books" Tali grinned "well you are the daughter of a writer maybe you should give it a go" she said rolling onto her back before she looked over to where she could just about make out Blair's outline.

She heard her snort "yeah or Tim can edit them into his next book, I am surprised he hasn't written one about Tommy and Lisa hooking up and having a kid" "I think my mom threatened to break his fingers if he did try to incorporate me into his stories when I was a baby" Tali said and Blair laughed "that explains it" she said before she yawned loudly.

"Night Blair" Tali whispered as she rolled onto her side again and snuggled up "Night Tal" she heard Blair mutter and she smiled to herself before she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Hope you enjoyed that – few more chapters left but nearly done unfortunately**

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	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming, not much of the story left now. Enjoy this one.**

Chapter 14

It was three days later that Blair was finally released from hospital much to her relief; she was the last one to be released and had been going stir crazy stuck in the hospital. Despite being released however she was placed on bed rest so the moment she got home Tim steered her straight over to the couch and sat her down on it. "Dad" she whined "no" Tim said "you heard the doctors you have to rest" "I have been resting for six days, stuck in that bed, can I please get up. It's not like I'm wanting to go running or anything."

"No" he said and she groaned before she looked up "so when are you going back to work" she asked thinking she could get up whilst he wasn't in "this afternoon" he said "but don't worry I called in reinforcements to keep you down" she scowled before looking up "who" she asked and he grinned "You will just have to wait and see" he said. She grumbled under her breath. "That's not fair. I thought we weren't keeping secrets." He shook his head before replying, "This one's worth keeping." She pulled a face before her next comment arose. "At least tell me you have movies then?" He moved over to the bookcase and pulled a few off, walking back over and passing them to her. "Really? All you have is old sci-fi movies." She whinged, throwing them down next to her dramatically. "Well if you want any particular ones, I can just download them for you." Her eyebrows raised before she spoke, "Isn't that, like illegal?"

He smirked at her "if it will keep you down I don't care" she pouted and grumpily settled back down under the blanket. He spent the morning with her downloading movies and sorting her computer out so that it would be faster for her and Blair enjoyed the time with him, it felt nice to be with someone who cared about her, and she found herself craving more, her near death experience really had put everything into context for her.

After a light lunch Tim began to move around getting ready to go to work, Blair watched him from her spot on the sofa "you know you don't have to put anyone out by asking them to come sit with me, I promise I won't get up" she said hopefully, he gave her a look that plainly said he didn't believe her "I'm not putting anyone out" he said "they volunteered" Blair frowned "they" she questioned.

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Tim moved over to open it stepping back and Blair smiled as April, Livie and Tali all stepped in and Tali was carrying a huge bag. "Hiyee" April said moving over to hug her "how you feeling" she asked, Blair smiled as she hugged her back "grumpy that I can't get up" she muttered. April grinned "yeah sorry we are under strict instructions not to let you up" Blair huffed indignantly before she looked at Tali.

"What's in the bag DiNozzo" she asked, Tali raised her eyebrows as she dumped it on the coffee table "movies McGee" she said mimicking Blair's use of last names "my dad said Tim had an appalling movie collection so we chose some good ones to bring over". "Urgh you're a life saver" Blair said leaning over to grab the boxes and flick through the titles "yeah all he has is old sci fi ones, nothing from this century" Livie laughed as she dropped onto the sofa next to Blair.

Tim pulled a face "unlike your father Tali I don't spend my free time watching movies" Tali smirked "no you play video games" she said "hey don't judge" he complained giving her a friendly shove "now I am off, help yourself to anything from the kitchen, Blair knows where you can find everything is, call me if you need anything" he ruffled Blair's hair much to her annoyance before he slipped out shutting the door behind him.

Tali turned to look at Blair "you get first choice" she said "what do you want to watch first" Blair slowly flicked through the movies "_This Means War" _she suggested "ooo I love that movie" April said as she and Livie came back from the kitchen with some snacks and drinks "soo funny" Tali said with a grin as she slotted it into the DVD player and grabbed the remotes before she threw herself down by Blair's feet as Livie and April chucked themselves onto the other sofa.

They enjoyed the movie and were soon laughing hard which caused Blair to wince and grab her stomach in pain "maybe we shouldn't watch something funny next" Tali said eyeing her "aw but those are the best types" Blair complained "don't worry it doesn't hurt that bad, and I will have to take those pain meds soon anyway" she added eyeing the little bottle on the counter.

They ended up going for a rom com in the end; '_Music and Lyrics' _still funny but not as funny as their first movie and they were content for a while, though halfway through the film, Tali noticed Blair fingering her phone and when the film came to an end Tali asked "you ok, do you need more pain meds". Blair smiled weakly "Nah I'm good" she assured before she chewed her lip "though can I ask you a favour" "sure" Tali said what, Blair twisted her phone around in her hand before she looked at Livie "could you go see Missy and check that she is ok" she asked "I haven't seen her in like a week and I just want to know that she is ok, I am the one who does the most for her and I don't know what the others have been doing for her"

Livie looked at her before she smiled "sure thing" she said "Tali and I will go", Tali eyed her doubtfully "er we will" she questioned. Livie gave her a look "come on you have been round Skye before" "yeah but I waited outside and put jumps up" Tali said "come on, you will have to look after her when I am back in DC and whilst Blair is still recovering" Livie said and Tali looked apprehensive "I will" she said "come on" Livie said and she stood up "so where is it" she asked and Blair gave her the address of the yard "there is a bus that drops you off practically outside it" she said "if anyone asks you who you are just tell them I sent you cus I can't come"

Livie nodded and Blair gave her instructions as to how to care for the horse she loved before Livie grabbed Tali and dragged her out leaving April and Blair happily watching another movie.

XO

It didn't take them long to arrive at the animal shelter and they went over to the reception and explained who they were. Blair had obviously decided to call because the receptionist nodded and took them round to the back paddock where there was a small horse grazing.

Livie leapt over the fence eagerly before she turned to find Tali eyeing her "come on Tali" she said and with a sigh Tali scrambled into the paddock and followed Livie over to the shed where she grabbed a head collar and lead rope and approached the mare.

Missy sensed them approaching and looked up snorting uncertainly as they slowed to a stop waiting for her to relax, she shifted uncertainly before she lowered her head slightly stretching her neck to sniff at them.

"Hi Missy" Livie said in a gentle voice "aren't you a pretty girl"; Missy snorted again still eyeing them uncertainly. Slowly Livie took a few steps forward keeping her hands still but visible not looking the mare in the eye, she approached slowly until there was a small gap in between her and the horse. Then she stopped and waited for Missy to make the next move.

Missy eyed her for a minute sizing her up before she slowly moved forward and Livie held out a hand to her. Missy paused to sniff her outstretched hand before she nudged it gently and then allowed Livie to rub her nose, liking that she moved forward again so Livie could stroke her neck and then scratch her forehead where Blair said she liked it. Livie smiled as the mare closed her eyes enjoying the scratch "you are lovely" Livie told her before she slipped the head collar carefully on and then encouraged her to walk back to where Tali was waiting.

"Aw she's lovely" Livie said as she approached "but she needs a good groom… here hold her for a sec" she handed Tali the lead rope and jogged over to where she had been told everything was kept and grabbed a box of brushes and jogged back.

When she returned she found Tali and Missy eying each other warily as though trying to size each other up, Tali's eyes were flashing over the horse checking for any danger and Missy was staring at the wary girl as though trying to figure out how to cope with her.

Livie couldn't help but laugh and Tali looked at her "what" she asked affronted and Livie grinned as she moved over "seriously" she said "I watch you beat the utter crap out of a group of guys with guns without batting an eyelid but stick you next to a horse and you don't have a clue what to do" Tali gave her a look "I am not used to horses" she said "you were fine with Skye though" Livie coaxed taking the lead rope from Tali and leading Missy over to the fence to tie her up "yeah well Skye was Skye, the definition of good, and if you remember I waited a while before I went close, Missy I don't know that well"

Livie looked at Tali "well no time like the present to get to know her" she said and handed Tali a brush and pushed her over to Missy and gently showed her how to brush the mare who turned her head to look at them before she slowly lowered her head and closed her eyes. Tali looked at her "is she ok" she asked and Livie grinned "yes she likes that, she is relaxing"

"Oh" Tali said and the strokes of the brush got more confident. Livie picked up another brush and joined her and for a few minutes all was silent as they stood there side by side grooming Missy.

"So are things better with you and Blair" Livie asked as she began to brush knots and tats out of Missy's silvery tail. Tali smiled "I dunno, still a lot we have to figure out you know, but I think we trust each other now" Livie gave her a look "you saved each other's lives, she took a bullet for you, you tried to get revenge for her death and kept her alive, if you didn't trust each other after that then I don't think you ever would" Tali smirked and Livie could visibly see her relaxing as she brushed Missy.

It was a good while later that they both stepped back to admire their handiwork and Livie grinned "she looks great" she said and Tali smiled "that was very relaxing" she commented and Livie nodded "yes I have always found it very relaxing, horses are brilliant for helping me wind down". Tali smiled and then looked over as Missy nudged her gently asking for fuss and very slowly Tali rubbed her nose and the smile widened "I think she likes you" Livie said patting Missy's neck and Tali laughed "you're not so bad yourself" she told the horse who snorted making them both laugh.

"She reminds me of Blair" Tali said and Livie looked at her "cautious and it took her a while to trust me" Livie grinned "yeah and they have both been through a lot which means they are very strong" Tali nodded.

Livie headed over to the shed where Missy lived and looked inside, sure enough there was a bridle hanging just out of sight where Blair had said she had left it. Grinning she took it and moved over to Missy and Tali. Halfway there she paused when she saw that Missy was resting her head against Tali's chest and Tali was running her hand gently down the side of her face smiling, they looked so tranquil together Livie couldn't resist taking out her phone and snapping a picture of the two of them before she jogged over.

"Hey smile" she said and they both looked over in time for her to grab another picture before she clicked her tongue and Missy pricked her ears up for the next picture "good girl" Livie praised "I'll send those to Blair, she misses you very much pretty girl", grinning she sent all three before she picked up the bridle "now watch closely" she said to Tali "you need to learn how to do this"

She carefully showed Tali how to bridle the mare before she led her over to the fence and used it to awkwardly clamber up onto Missy's bare back instantly feeling at home as she settled down patting her neck, then she gently urged the mare into a walk and they set off round the field. She waited until she had gotten used to the mare's rhythmical gait before she urged her into a trot smiling as they set off and she leaned slightly back to balance herself feeling Missy's mane whipping against her hands as she rode.

She passed Tali and winked at her "you're next" she called before she urged the mare into a canter laughing in delight as they cantered round she flung her head back closing her eyes as she felt the wind against her face tugging almost playfully at her hair blowing it out behind her and as she closed her eyes it felt like she was flying.

She cantered all the way round the field before she slowed her to a trot and then a walk and moved her over to where Tali was sitting on the fence taking pictures. She smiled at her friend as she slowed to a stop "she is lovely" she breathed "bit bouncier than Skye thought cus she is slightly smaller" Tali grinned "you look good on her" she said and Livie grinned back before she held out a hand "come on then" she said "Your turn"

Tali eyed her hand as though it was about to bite her "you know maybe we should head back" she said "no not until you get on" Livie said "come on she is lovely" "but there is no saddle" Tali said "I have never ridden without a saddle and I have only ridden a couple of times"

Livie gave a mock sigh as she patted Missy's neck "well I'm disappointed Tali, I thought you could do anything" Tali scowled at her and Livie grinned seeing that she was getting to her "well I guess if you are too chicken" she said and looked at her pointedly before she held out her hand.

A few seconds ticked by as Tali eyed both Livie and the horse before she gave a groan and put on a brave face before she took Livie's hand and allowed her to yank her up onto Missy's back.

Tali wrapped her arms around Livie's stomach and hung on tight as she felt Missy move off at Livie's request. She clung to Livie as she felt herself slide slightly and groaned "how in the hell did you ever convince me to do this" she muttered looking down to see the ground a lot further away than she would have liked.

Livie laughed "come on Tali relax will you" she glanced over her shoulder at her "and quit looking down, if you look down nine times out of ten that is where you end up, I know from experience". Tali instantly looked up peering over Livie's shoulder to see between Missy's ears and she realised what a beautiful view it was and slowly she began to relax.

"There" Livie said "better" she asked, Tali shrugged "a bit" she muttered under her breath and she saw Livie smirk "so faster then" Livie asked "nope" Tali said and Livie's smirk widened and Tali saw her touch her heels into Missy's side. "I said no" Tali squealed as Missy leapt into a trot and they bounced on her back "Livie" she squeaked "I'm gonna fall" "what was that? I didn't hear you" Livie called "slow down" Tali called "oh you wanna go faster… ok"

"No" Tali squealed but Livie let out a laugh and nudged Missy again and the mare broke smoothly into a canter. Tali yelped as the ground began to fly past at an alarming speed, "Livie" she yelled but Livie just laughed "I am going to kill you" Tali shouted causing Livie to laugh even louder but she didn't slow Missy down.

Tali clung to Livie until she found that she was balancing quite well on Missy's back and she hesitantly began to relax and she looked over to see the trees flashing by. Slowly she looked around again before she looked down at Missy's hooves flashing up and down as she carried them across the field. Tali could feel the horse moving underneath her as she gripped with her legs.

Ever so carefully she loosened her grip that she had around Livie's waist and leaned back slightly to look around. Livie glanced over her shoulder at her and grinned "see it isn't that bad" she called, Tali didn't respond, she just looked around as the world flew by.

Livie laughed again and lowered the rains onto Missy's neck and spread her arms, "whoa" Tali shouted "you're crazy", "no I'm not" Livie called "I'm living, try it, it feels amazing". Tali waited until Livie had caught hold of the reins again before she slowly loosened her grip again and slowly spread her arms out.

Instantly she let out a gasp of amazement as she felt a rush of adrenaline course through her, she felt like she was flying. All that kept her on Missy's back was the grip she had with her legs. She could feel everything; the wind against her face, every thud of Missy's footfalls and a sense of freedom that overwhelmed her. She felt alive, she felt free, like nothing could stop her, not even reality.

Livie slowed Missy back to a trot and Tali grabbed her again as the new bouncy gait made her slide. Once Missy had slowed to a walk puffing gently, Livie steered her over to the gate and stopped her before she slowly slid off looking up at Tali who was still seated there her hands resting on Missy's side. Then slowly she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Missy's neck hugging her as Missy turned her head to look at her nickering gently. Livie grinned and took another photo before she stepped back as Tali slid awkwardly off and staggered as she landed and she stood there gazing at Missy before she slowly reached out to rub her velvety nose.

"Did you enjoy that by any chance" Livie teased as she caught hold of Missy and took off her bridle and replaced her head collar patting her neck. Tali nodded "yeah I did once I found my balance" she breathed still stroking Missy "it did feel amazing"

Livie nodded and the two of them gave Missy another quick groom before they each fed her an apple and turned her loose again in her field. Smiling they both watched as she trotted off to the middle of the field, her head and tail held high before she stopped looked back at them before she lowered herself down and rolled in the grass.

"Aw man" both Livie and Tali whined before they both laughed and turned to make their way out of the centre and to the bus stop where they waited for the bus that would take them back to McGee's to arrive chattering quietly as they did so. When it arrived they jumped on and settled into a seat "wonder how April is getting on looking after Blair" Tali mused and Livie laughed "hope Blair hasn't driven her crazy" she joked and they both giggled.

Once the bus had dropped them off at the end of the road they headed down at a leisurely pace before they knocked on the door. A few seconds later it opened and April poked her head round and grinned at them before stepping aside to let them in.

"Hey" she greeted "I take it you both had a good time", they both nodded as they slipped into the living room where Blair was curled up on the sofa sleeping "she fell asleep not that long ago" April said "after she took some more medication, that stuff must be strong" they both smiled before they moved round to the other sofa and they squeezed on it together chattering quietly until they heard a mumble from behind and they looked over to see Blair blinking herself awake "how long was I out" she mumbled "not long" April said "but look who's back"

Blair looked over and smiled groggily "hey Liv, hey Tal" she muttered rubbing her eyes "hey how you feeling Blair" Tali asked moving over to sit at her feet "eh no better no worse" she mumbled before he smile widened "Missy liked you then from the looks of it" Tali frowned at her questioningly and slowly Blair picked up her phone and showed Tali the pictures Livie had sent her making Tali smile affectionately at the sight of them.

"Yeah she did, she wasn't too keen at first but she came around" Blair smirked "I must have been rubbing off on her" she mused and they all chuckled "did you like her" Blair asked and Tali nodded eagerly "yes she is soo sweet isn't she, a real angel" Blair nodded "yes she is" she mused grinning at the pictures of her beloved horse.

"So what did you guys do" Livie asked "ah watched more movies" April said "and we were gonna watch _The Hunger Games_ before Blair fell asleep" "whoops" Blair said pushing herself carefully higher up the pillows "well how about we start it now" everyone nodded "ooo glad we didn't miss this" Livie said as April set it up "I love this movie"

Tali settled herself at the opposite end of the sofa to Blair and allowed the groggy teen to put her legs over her lap "thanks for seeing Missy for me" Blair mumbled and Tali looked at her with a smile "no problem I enjoyed it" she said, Blair returned the smile before she turned her attention to the TV as the movie began.

XO

The rest of the day passed quickly and they were surprised when they heard the sound of a key in the lock. They all turned to see Tim enter "hey" he said moving over "good day" he asked and they all nodded eagerly "how you feeling" he asked Blair who shrugged from where she was lying with her feet over Tali's lap "ok, stomach still hurts though" he smiled sympathetically "Abby said she will be over to see you later" he said "and your parents will be over soon" he added to the others who nodded.

He looked at the TV then and frowned "what are you doing" he asked "we got bored of movies" Blair said "so we started playing on your Xbox, Halo is fun multiplayer" "is for you" Tali complained "you go round shooting the rest of us, we are on the same team hello" Blair smirked "ah well just a game" she said with a grin and McGee rolled his eyes at them "you better not have erased all the data" he told Blair and her eyes widened causing him to stare at her. "You didn't" he whined "was that the first box with Elf-Lord on it" she asked "oops". "Blair" he whined before spotting the sly grin on her face and the others shaking with laughter "don't worry I was very carefully not to touch that" she said and he growled at her giving her a gentle shove that made her laugh and then wince.

Slowly the others gathered their things up so that by the time there was a knock on the door they were all ready to go. McGee opened the door to allow Booth, Ziva and Kate in and they all greeted their daughters warmly as Ziva set Aiden down and he and Libby headed over to see Blair who greeted them both eagerly. Libby seemed to have gotten fond of Aiden because as the adults had a talk she knelt down next to him where he had settled on the rug and was playing with an Xbox controller. She grinned and began to play peek-a-boo with him making him giggle delightedly calling out "Lee Bee" every time she peeked out at him.

"Naw they are certainly going to miss each other when this is over" April said watching them affectionately "I think we are all going to miss each other" Kate said wrapping her arms around Livie as she came over "aw do we have to go back home soon" Livie asked and Kate shrugged "technically I was sent here on a case so I could request a little more time, though I think Lanie is freaking out about you and Gates did leave a message on my voicemail asking if I was incapable of staying out of danger". Livie giggled as Ziva bent down and lifted Aiden back into her arms carefully prying the game controller from him much to his disgust before she brushed his dark curly hair out of his eyes.

"Well we should head home" Booth said "come on bud come on munchkin" April smiled as she caught up her bag and bent to hug Blair goodbye "see you soon" she promised and Blair nodded smiling at her before she hugged Libby smirking as the five year old sternly told her to stay out of silly situations, she promised she would before Libby scampered over to April and grabbed her hand as they headed out. Ziva followed to strap Aiden back into his seat whilst Tali and Livie said their goodbyes.

Blair hugged Livie before grinning at Tali and she gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder "thanks for seeing Missy for me, wish I could have seen your face when you first got on her though" Tali scowled at Livie "well maybe if we had started off slow it would have been easier on me" Livie grinned sweetly "hey I think you did well, you even let go at one point" "that was cool" Tali admitted before she gave Blair a friendly punch back and slipped out of the house after Livie and Kate.

She waved goodbye to Livie before she scrambled into the car next to her mother as she gunned the engine and they drove off. "So were you and Blair ok together today" Ziva asked as they headed home at the usual alarming speed "yeah" Tali said "she asked me and Livie to go see Missy, the horse she likes and I rode her, it was scary cus there wasn't a saddle but I liked it, it was quite fun" Ziva smiled at her "that is good that she trusts you to go see the horse she loves" she said and Tali nodded "we are getting there" she said and Ziva smiled as she headed home to Tony.

XO

Rick was seated on the sofa with his laptop out when Livie and Kate arrived home again and next to him was Alexis who had spent the day with her friends before they headed off home to their families. They both looked up when they entered.

"Hey kiddo" Rick said as with a grin Livie wrapped her arms around him from behind "how was your day and why do you smell like horse" Livie giggled and told him about her day and how she had gone to see Missy. "Trust you to find a horse" Rick said with a grin as Kate moved round the sofa to sit next to Alexis grinning at the older teenage who smiled back happily.

Scowling playfully at her father Livie headed into the bedroom and grabbed some clean clothes before she slipped into the bathroom to shower. Kate gave a small sigh as she looked at Rick "shame we have to head home" she murmured "the girls are really starting to get along now". Slowly Rick closed his laptop "well" he said "I have been thinking about that and I have had an idea"

Kate raised her eyebrows at him "oh really" she said and he nodded eagerly before he launched into an explanation "well you know how Booth was put on desk duty for breaking the rules and Gibbs' team is going on paid suspension for what they did" Kate nodded "dreading what is going to happen to me when I get back" she said and both Alexis and Rick smirked "well" Rick continued "I was thinking maybe we could invite them out to spend their suspension in the Hamptons with us, you could take some leave since technically you were working up here and we could just take them up, Blair can recover on the beach, they do say that the sea air is good for you after all and as long as she doesn't move too much she should be fine and maybe we could get Skye up for Livs, have the boys and Lanie come down and meet everyone and get them to bring Skye with them... what do you think"

Kate looked at him before a huge smile slipped onto her face "you know what I think that sounds like a brilliant idea" she said "we could all use the time to just rest and relax and the Hamptons sounds perfect" he grinned "so shall we see what everyone else thinks" he asked and Kate nodded

Grinning at him she reached for her phone and quickly dialled Tony and Ziva's home phone. After a couple of rings Ziva picked up _"hi Ziva is this a bad time"_ Kate asked hearing loud squeals and wails in the background, Ziva gave a gentle laugh **"no no it's fine, Aiden is hungry that is all... Tali can you finish feeding him for me aheva"** Kate heard her ask and a few seconds later Aiden's squeals faded as Tali obviously began to feed him.

**"There"** Ziva said **"now I can hear you"** Kate smiled _"is Aiden at the temper tantrum stage"_ she asked and Ziva let out another laugh before she let out a sigh **"yes he is"** she said **"has been for a while unfortunately, I think he just takes after Tony when he is hungry".** Kate laughed before she moved on _"anyway we were wondering if you had anything planned during your time off work"_ Ziva snorted **"you mean our suspension"** she asked **"no not really, just trying to spend time with the kids... why"**

Kate smiled looking up as Livie exited the bathroom dressed in sweatpants and an old top, her hair still wet from the shower. _"Well"_ she said _"Rick, the girls and I are headed up to the Hamptons for a bit and we were wondering if you would all like to join us"._ She saw Livie stop and an excited grin slipped onto her face and Kate winked at her **"really"** Ziva said **"I think that sounds amazing ... hang on"** Kate heard her speaking in rapid Hebrew to Tali who let out an excited squeal **"well Tali is definitely up for it"** Ziva said with a laugh **"and I am sure Tony will be".** _"Great"_ Kate said _"I'll contact you later with more details but at the moment I think we are planning to leave the day after tomorrow so that will give us time to prepare" _**"sounds perfect thanks for the invite"** Ziva said _"no problem"_ Kate responded _"well I won't keep you from your hungry boy any longer so talk tomorrow... bye Ziva"_ "**bye Kate**" Ziva said before they both hung up.

"Tali is coming to the Hamptons with us" Livie said excitedly and Kate nodded "and April" Rick said as he hung up his phone "Booth said they were up for it ... I'll call McGee and see what he thinks" he added "awesome" Livie breathed.

McGee seemed up for it and apparently so did Blair and a rather excited Abby and it wasn't long before they had called everyone up and invited them down. Kate had called the boys and Lanie up and they were eager to come down and they were also willing to fetch Skye for Livie much to her delight.

The next day was spent organising everything. Kate called Gates and informed her that after this difficult case she wanted to take her time off and spend it with her daughter. Gates wasn't too impressed, especially when she heard that her other two best detectives and her medical examiner were going to join her but she granted the time off much to Kate's relief.

They met up with everybody and informed them of what to bring whilst the girls chattered excitedly to each other. Kate noticed that Blair was slightly quiet that evening but when she asked her if she was ok, she told her that the medication was just making her sleepy.

Once they had finished they all headed home to pack and have an early night ready for their week of excitement.

The next morning after checking out of the hotel Rick loaded their bags into the car and drove to the Jeffersonion where they met everyone else and Rick gave them the address in case they got lost before they all headed out of DC to the Hamptons.

**Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Unfortunately the next chapter is the last **** gonna definitely miss this story an awful lot.**

**However another story is being plotted and planned as we speak involving our four little crime solvers all grown up and solving their own crimes as a team.**

**The twist for this one is that they call in help from another team. A team from the Behavioural Analysis Unit. The next story will involve Criminal Minds.**

**I am curious. Who likes Criminal Minds because I am currently writing a love story between our favourite genius Reid and Livie. I am still dithering about publishing it though. If you are interested let me know and I will publish it. **

**It will involve a case involving missing children and a brewing romance.**

**Anyway please review.**

**Thanks**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi everyone thanks for the reviews. I hate to say it but this is the last chapter ****. I really hope you have enjoyed this story because we have loved writing it. Hope you enjoy this.**

Chapter 15

Kate smiled as she rolled down the window and breathed in the scent of the sea air feeling it catch up her curls blowing them out behind her. She glanced in the back to see Livie and Alexis listening to a song on an iPod grinning at each other before Livie looked out the window and a huge grin slipped onto her face "look there it is" she breathed and looking over Kate saw the house approaching and she smiled as they pulled into the large drive.

Laughing Livie scrambled out excitedly as the another car pulled up behind them and Tali scrambled out followed by the rest of her family "whoa" she breathed staring at the beautiful traditional house in front of her with its white washed walls and its sloping red roof. Ziva and Tony stood there staring opened mouthed at it "wow" Tony eventually managed "um nice house"

Rick chuckled as he unlocked the front door and they all began to get their luggage in as McGee, Abby and Blair arrived followed shortly by April and her family; their reactions were pretty much the same as the DiNozzo's reactions.

Rick gave them all a tour before assigning them to rooms, Brennan and Booth in one, Tony and Ziva in another, then he assigned McGee and Abby to a room asking innocently if they were alright sharing causing everyone to look at them including Blair who gave her father a pointed look. They both nodded not speaking though Tali and her father were nudging each other in that childish manner with huge grins on their faces.

They left the last rooms for Lanie and Esposito and Ryan and Jenny to share and they went down to the living room and they began to build a large bed out of spare mattresses and cushions for the girls to all cuddle up on including Libby much to her delight.

Once that was done Livie looked around "come on" she said excitedly "lets go to the beach" Tali and April both nodded excitedly. "Come on Blair" Tali said and she grabbed the other girls arm and began to drag her out of the house ignoring her muttered protests. Grinning Livie gave her a gentle shove trying to encourage her down to the beach.

Blair sighed as she was dragged towards the beach by Tali and Livie with April trailing along behind them at a slightly slower pace. As they reached the sand from where they'd been on the grass that linked the beach to the house Blair dug her heels in. "No thanks. I'm fine inside." She muttered beginning to pull away.

Even though Tali was a couple of years younger, she was just as strong and maintained the firm grasp on her wrist. Livie had gone with the thought that it was better to let her go, and stepped back beside April. "Please Blair. The whole point of coming here was to go to the beach." Tali said trying to convince Blair, but the teenager shook her head. "Not my thing Tal." She murmured, looking away and saw everyone else coming round the side of the house. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw the two girls facing each other.

"Please?" Tali asked and Blair looked away. "Don't make me do this. I just can't." She glanced back and frowned at the confused and slightly hurt look upon Tali's face. "You don't get it do you?" she questioned quietly, trying to ignore the eyes she felt boring into her back. Tali slowly shook her head looking confused and Blair spoke again, "Just leave it then. I'm going back inside." She finished by pulling her wrist out of Tali's grip and retreating back to the house where she'd stayed since they'd gotten there.

Tali looked over at Livie and April who shrugged as Blair moved past them. As she got closer to the house, Tali ran after her again, grabbing her wrist tightly, causing her to spin and turn on her. "Tali. I said no." She snapped and Tali took the hint to step back a step "You can't spend the whole time inside." She said. "Why not?" Blair challenged and her eyebrows rose at the question. "Because it's the beach, duh." Tali said and the older girl rolled her eyes, "but seriously, why don't you want to?" She asked as the sun came out from behind the clouds and a wave of heat beat down on them.

"Just leave it." Blair looked away, but spoke firmly going to pull away but Tali wouldn't budge. "I'm not gonna move until you tell me what's up." Blair shook her head. "Ugh. Fine. But no one gets it, because it seems so stupid when I say it." She started, struggling to find the right words. Before she continued on she turned her head to glance back at Livie and April who were still standing at a respectful distance.

Moving her gaze back to Tali she continued on. "You think I want to be seen like this?" She asked, pulling the hem of her shirt up to show the large, but healing wound that was un-bandaged at the moment. Tali looked her in the eye, "just put a bandage on it. It's not like you have to swim." She said quickly giving it no thought not understanding why this would be a problem.

Blair however didn't look convinced. "Yeah. I guess so..." She trailed off and it was obvious there was something more to it than her being self conscious. "What's the real reason Blair?" Tali asked. "Nothing. That's it." It was Tali's turn for her eyebrows to rise and Blair gave an overly dramatic sigh. "Don't worry. I'm going for a walk. See you later I suppose." She finished tugging her wrist again out of Tali's grip and stalking away, past the three teams, who stared at her and McGee moved forward, "Blair?" He questioned softly and she shook her head, her step quickening. "Blair, wait." He called after her and she broke into a run.

Tim looked back at Abby and then began to go after her following her up the drive and down a side path that led up to the cliff top that looked over the beach. As they reached the top, Blair had realized she had gotten herself into a dead end and spun round, puffing slightly from the effort of running up the hill. She stepped back quickly when she noticed McGee come to a stop in front of her. "Did you really have to run up the hill?" He asked and she gave a half smile, but it didn't meet her eyes.

She turned away, moving over to a boulder that provided a sitting spot in the shade. She leaned against it breathing heavily watching his next move as he too walked over to join her. "My mom brought me here once. When I was young." She murmured, and it was almost like she was talking to herself.

Tim didn't speak letting her carry on. "We came up here. And it feels like nothing's changed. But it has, everything's changed." She continued her voice getting higher; she paused as if to regain herself.

They sat in silence as Blair stared at her feet. When she finally looked up again, she turned to face him and asked, "Do you remember her? At all?" Tim was surprised, it wasn't a question he'd expected at all, and he didn't know how to reply. "Well yeah..." He started and she looked away and bit her lip. "Don't worry. Pretend I never asked." She muttered but he went on, "We weren't together very long at all, we only met up a couple of times."

There was silence before Blair spoke up again "Well you obviously got close to her one... of those times. Did you even know you got her pregnant?" She questioned, and he could hear the angered tone she was now speaking in. "No. I didn't know, she never told me." He said simply. "Figures" She whispered hoisting herself up to sit of the rock, muttering a curse word in her effort to hide the pain that came from her stomach. "Why didn't you ever see her again?" She asked, the venom now obvious in her voice.

"We went our separate ways and that was that." Tim replied, trying not to upset his daughter. "And you didn't even try and find her again." She snapped. "How was I meant to? I thought she wouldn't want to see me again. It just wasn't meant to be Blair. I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes in an almost sarcastic manner and jumped down from the boulder and moving over to watch the waves coming in, rolling onto the shore rhythmically, sensing her father following she didn't turn and check before she spoke, "Who left who?" She heard him hesitate. "It was a mutual thing." Blair's eyes narrowed and she bit her lip. "Yeah, like I believe that. Why'd you leave her?" She asked. He shook his head, "it doesn't matter." She spun around. "Yes. It does. Why did you leave her?" He sighed and she glared at him.

Eventually he managed a quick answer out. "I caught her doing drugs one night." Her glare on him got even harder and he found himself having to look away. "And you just left her?" She spat. He nodded, avoiding her eye. They stood in another silence, with Blair silently fuming. "Why do you care so much?" he asked. She didn't answer straight away, and when she did, her voice had changed from being angry, to wavering on the edge of tears. "I was so scared, the day I found her in the kitchen. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know what the needle on the floor next to her was. I was so confused. By all means I didn't know she was dead. I didn't know what to feel when I was taken away and placed in someone else's family. Then I was uprooted again and dumped in another home, and it went on, and on. All I wanted was a permanent family. Nothing was normal, I didn't have any friends. I never got any attention. My childhood was far from perfect. Now all this happens. All I want is my mommy back." She finally said, her voice breaking and he heard her sniffle as she began to cry softly.

"Blair." Tim whispered and she glanced down at the ground. He noticed her shoulders moving as her cries turned into sobs and she stepped forward into his arms. "She was all I had." She sobbed against his chest as he held her tightly, saying nothing, simply comforting her by being there.

He gently guided her back over to the boulder, leaning her against it she glanced up, biting her lip and managing to stop herself crying she moved so he could stand next to her. As he did so, she sighed. "Do you want to head back?" He asked cautiously and she shook head briefly. "No. Can we stay here for a bit, please?" He nodded, with a quick smile to himself as he felt Blair rest her head on his shoulder.

XO

It was a while before Blair and McGee returned from the cliffs and when they did Blair headed straight over to where Tali was sitting in the sand and she settled down next to her and after a moment she began to talk and Tali listened her face concerned. When she was done Blair dropped her head to stare at the sand and she gently began to draw patterns in the sand. Tali looked at her long and hard before she suddenly put her arms around her and hugged her tightly. After a brief pause Blair hugged Tali back.

Up on the grass, sitting in deck chairs the adults watched the two of them "those two really are giving me whiplash" Tony said with a sigh "one minute they hate each other, the next they love each other, I hope they decide on those feelings soon and hopefully positive" he added as an afterthought as everyone smiled.

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Rick leapt up to answer it before he called "Livie delivery for you" and Livie frowned as she got to her feet and headed through the house to the door. She let out a small squeal when she saw who it was and cried out "hi Lanie" and with a smile Kate hauled herself up and headed out to greet her best friend also grinning as she saw Ryan and Javi waiting by the car with Ryan's wife Jenny. They grinned as they hugged Livie before they stepped aside to allow her to open the trailer attached to the back of the car and there was another small squeal as she leapt inside followed by a friendly neigh.

"Hi Lanie" Kate said with a smile "hey girl god I am never letting either of you out of my sight again" Lanie growled as she hugged her tightly, Kate smiled "well you know me Lanie; a magnet for danger" "yes and it appears Livie inherited that trait" Javi joked as he stepped forward to greet her and she smiled as she hugged them.

"Drive up ok" she asked "yeah no problems at all" Ryan said "think we made pretty good time myself" he said and Kate grinned as there was a clatter of hooves and Livie appeared leading her pretty dappled grey mare down the ramp out of the trailer grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey Skye" Kate said as she moved forward to greet the horse who snuffled at her pockets hoping for a treat before she nickered gently. They freed the horse of her travel rugs before Livie grabbed her bridle and slipped it on before Kate gave her a boost up onto Skye's back and instantly the horse trotted off her ears pricked snorting heavily at the sea air.

"Come meet the others" Rick said and they followed Skye round the house in time to see her canter off down the beach towards Tali and Blair who both spun round and they saw a look of delight slip across Blair's face as she saw the horse and she slowly heaved herself to her feet and moved forward to greet her eagerly as Livie slowed her to a stop and slid off.

Rick made the introductions and everyone greeted the rest of Kate's team who smiled warmly at them before Esposito bent to greet Libby who was peering shyly round her father's leg. He talked to her gently before she slowly came out to say hello making everyone smile as she launched into a talk about how much she liked it here and everyone settled back to listen and talk amongst themselves as the other girls remained on the beach.

XO

Tali smiled as she leapt up at the sight of Livie approaching on Skye, she looked over and carefully helped Blair to her feet as she rose staring at the horse in delight "Oh" she gasped "she's gorgeous Livie". Livie smiled "yes she is" she said as she slid off patting Skye's neck.

Slowly Blair reached out to her and Skye stretched her head out to nuzzle her hand snorting gently "hey beautiful" Blair whispered rubbing her forehead smiling happily. Skye stood there for a moment before she snorted and tugged at the reins looking down the beach. Livie laughed "well I think someone wants to get rid of some pent up energy" she said with a smile "go give her a blast" Blair said grinning and Livie winked before she gathered up her reins and Tali gave her a boost back onto Skye's back. She settled herself before she turned Skye parallel to the beach. She didn't have to encourage her or anything. Skye just instantly leapt forward and began to gallop across the beach with Livie laughing in delight on her back.

Blair and Tali laughed as they watched her race through the sands grinning at her laughs of delight. "wow" April said as she jogged down the beach towards them "does she have any brakes" "doesn't look like it" Blair said quietly and Tali looked over at her and saw she looked very wistful "why don't you go for a gallop next" she suggested "can't" Blair said "not supposed to be doing any exercise remember"

"Oh yeah" Tali said and she looked at her friend "you miss Missy don't you" she said softly, Blair looked at her "yeah of course" she said "but I should get used to it, one day someone will adopt her and I wont get to see her again, she isn't mine, I have to remember that"

Tali looked at April who looked very sympathetic as Livie came back and slid off her puffing horse "do you want to come help me groom her Blair" she asked and Blair smiled "you don't mind" she asked "course not" Livie said "I looked after your horse so you can look after mine all you want". Blair smiled "thanks" she said and slowly they headed up the beach. As they walked slowly Blair reached out a hand to lean on Skye as they walked using her to hold herself up and instantly as though sensing she needed help Skye slowed and looked back at her snorting gently. Blair smiled and caught hold of a handful of mane at her withers and held onto it as they headed towards the outhouses where her stable was.

Tali watched her before she and April headed back up to the house where she greeted Ryan, Esposito and Lanie joyfully having met them when she was in New York. Then she slowly slipped inside to get a drink of water.

She leaned against the counter looking out the window through which she could see Livie and Blair with Skye grooming her and she smiled at how content they looked. Then she smiled and slipped outside to where the adults were sitting and turned to Rick smiling sweetly at him causing him to eye her warily "what" he asked "can I do something" she asked sweetly and Rick glanced at Tony and Ziva who shrugged at him "what" he asked and slowly she told them all her idea and they all smiled. By the time she was finished Rick was nodding "sure kid" he said "that is a nice idea, but who is going to do it"

"Leave that to me" Tali said and tugged her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she was looking for and she hit call before she lifted it to her ear. "Hi it's me" she said "yeah its great, the house is amazing… yep we are getting along fine… well I wanted to ask you a favour, not for me… for Blair" she headed off inside to explain and everyone looked at each other "well I think that we don't have to worry about them anymore" Tony said from where he was sitting in the sun lounger with Ziva leaning against him. Tim nodded from where he was sat on another lounger with Abby sitting by his feet. "I think that the two of them have accepted each other into the NCIS team" he mused and everyone nodded smiling at the progress that had been made.

XO

It was a few hours later when Tali heard back from Gibbs, who had previously said he would call when he was five minutes from reaching the house.

She answered cheerfully, jumping up and moving away from Blair who was watching Livie and April ride Skye doubles up and down the beach. The older teenager looked up at her questioningly from where she was sitting but to Tali's relief, stayed put.

The sound of tyres hitting the gravel road was heard before she made it round the side of the house and as she saw Gibbs pull up as she got to the front. She greeted him with a hug before he smiled, "How'd you think of this?" he gestured to the horse trailer and she shrugged. "I saw how happy she was with Skye and thought she'd like Missy up here too." Gibbs nodded before he walked around to the back and slowly let the ramp down. Tali leapt up into the front, and talking to Missy quietly; managed to untie her lead rope and back her down out of the trailer.

Missy instantly snorted and pawed at the driveway as she stood taking in her surroundings "You wanna go see Blair?" Tali asked the horse and grinned when she nodded her head up and down as if understanding what she'd said. "Come on then." She murmured, tugging gently on the rope and leading Missy forward; back round to where the beach came into view.

Tali noticed all the adults who were sitting up on the porch stand, obviously wanting to see Blair's reaction. She grinned again as she and Missy snuck up on Blair whose gaze was still focused on the other grey horse, who was now trotting back up the beach with Livie and April having seen Missy arrive. The pony whinnied out at Skye, breaking Blair's attention as she spun round, her face brightening in delight as she saw Missy who nickered at her approach when Blair moved as fast as she could over to her wrapping her arms around her neck burying her face into the pony's neck as the little mare stood there snorting gently before Blair surprised Tali as she turned away from the horse and engulfed her in a hug, knowing she'd been behind it.

"Thank you." She said grinning and hugging Missy again before taking the lead rope from Tali and walking her over to meet Skye, laughing when Missy squealed at Skye who went to nip the smaller horse on the neck.

"You want to go play in the water Missy Moo?" Blair asked the horse who had her head down, sniffing curiously at the sand. Tali smiled up at Livie and April who both shook their heads at her but they too, had a smile on their faces as the three watched Blair take Missy over to where the waves were rolling in.

Missy snorted, pawing at the water uncertainly. They heard Blair giggled as she moved in till she was knee deep in the sea. The rope pulled tight as Missy still hadn't stepped forward. Tali looked back at the house, where all the adults were watching, Gibbs having joined them.

McGee smiled as he watched Blair standing by the water with Missy trying to persuade her to join her in the sea. She suddenly looked so happy at the arrival of the little mare, as though all her problems were forgotten when she was with Missy. "Thanks boss" he said and Gibbs looked over with a small smile "don't thank me, it was all Tali's idea" he responded and they all looked to where Tali was standing with April, Livie and Skye laughing as Missy took a cautious step towards Blair before she squealed as the water rolled up to her and she backed away from the rushing waves.

"I can't believe the animal centre let you take Missy" McGee added and Gibbs chuckled "I think they are over run and under staffed so they were glad for one less animal to look after. Plus I told them it was for Blair and they know where I live and work". Everyone laughed.

Tali grinned as she followed Livie and April back down to the sea with Skye following them "well Blair glad you could join us in the sea" April said and Blair smiled as she moved back over to Missy to give her a hug.

Slowly Livie brought Skye forward to meet Missy again. The two mares greeted each other cautiously before they snuffled at each other affectionately and Skye nudged Missy playfully as she snorted and looked up the beach.

Blair gave Tali a shove "give her a blast for me would you" she said offering her the lead rope and Tali blinked "what" she asked and Blair rolled her eyes "well I can't" she said and held out the lead rope again and Tali eyed it "but there isn't a bridle" she pointed out and Blair sighed before she fashioned the head collar and lead rope into a makeshift bridle and dragged Tali forward "please" she whined "she needs a run and I can't give her one". Tali hesitated but before she could protest any further April pushed her over and boosted her up onto Missy's back before helping Livie onto Skye who grinned as she gathered up her reins "ok" she said looking at Tali as she tried to hold Skye still who bounced around excited "hold tight, don't look down and keep control and everything will be fine" "oh is that all" Tali muttered as she gathered up the lead rope.

Up at the house Tony frowned "um what is Tali doing" he asked and everyone looked down to where the two horses were pawing at the ground. Kate grinned "well she had better hold tight" she said as they heard April shout "on your marks... get set... GO". Both horses leapt forward into a gallop as they raced each other up the beach. They heard Tali give a squeal as she shot past shouting "couldn't we have started off slow" as she clung onto the galloping horse and April and Blair laughed.

As she flew up the beach Tali clung to a handful of Missy's mane gasping as the wind whipped her hair back. Cautiously she found her balance and straightened up slightly, relaxing her grip on the reins. She peered through Missy's ears to see Livie who was a few feet ahead glance back at her grinning "keep up slowcoach" she shouted with a laugh before she urged Skye to go faster.

Tali smirked "come on then Missy" she whispered "lets shot them what we got". She gathered up the reins and nudged her heels into Missy's sides. Instantly Missy lengthened her stride, pushing herself to go faster. The gap between the two horses lessened as they came to the edge of the beach where they turned a wide circle and headed back towards the house.

As Tali caught up Livie grinned at her. "Let's live a little" she shouted and dropped the reins to spread her arms. Tali hesitated before she copied her laughing as she felt the rush of adrenaline again as she flew across the sands.

"She is way too much of a daredevil" Tony muttered as he watched Tali fling her arms out so that all that held her to Missy's back was her grip with her legs. Kate laughed "it does feel amazing" she said as they watched the two girls fly past "she has good balance" she noted smiling as the girls gathered up their reins again and struggle to stop as both ponies just seemed to want to keep running.

But eventually they stopped and made their way back to April and Blair and Tali slid of staggering as she landed looking very hyped up from the adrenaline rush she had just experienced. Grinning Blair caught hold of the lead rope again and as Livie rode Skye out she tried to persuade Missy once again to come join her in the sea. Without much luck.

McGee looked at Blair with a smile watching as she tried to convince the stubborn mare to step into the water. A couple of minutes later, the sound of his cell phone ringing broke his attention and he stood up to answer, walking over to the other side of the houses porch. "Tim McGee." He said questioningly, after realizing it was an unknown number. "Tim? It's Taylor McKinley. From the adoption agency, on Blair's case?"

He swallowed and with another glance down at Blair replied, keeping his tone even as he did so, "Yes, I remember. Please just tell me you have good news. Blair's behaviour has improved, and she seems a lot happier." He heard a sigh on the other side, "She was shot. We're just not sure if it's the right place for her to be in. We have to think of what's best for Blair, not necessarily what she wants."

The last statement angered McGee, he knew he couldn't have a go at the woman over the phone, that wouldn't help anybody, but it was almost like she was saying that they didn't even care if his daughter was happy. Just if she was in a suitable environment that was good enough for them.

"Well I'm certainly better than the last family she was with. She got beaten black and blue with them, and you're telling me they are more suitable then I am?" he retorted. She sighed again before speaking. "That's not what I'm saying. We were thinking of placing her with a family that has more time for her, she needs to heal Tim. With your job, we just don't think it'll work." He looked up from where he was leaning against the railing as he heard Blair laugh. He smiled as he saw Missy standing in the shallow water, pawing at the small waves coming in. Blair raised her head and grinned up at him, not noticing his tight expression.

That was when he realized. He may not be the best option for Blair, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. He watched her, trying not to cringe at the bandage that he could see poking out from under her shirt. "Okay. Listen. I may not be adequate for Blair, and you might have another family lined up that you think are going to be better for her, but they're not. I'm her father. I love her, I missed out on 15 years of her life, I didn't even know about her till just over a month ago, and you want to take her away from me? I thought you were meant to create happiness, not take it away. And if you do that with Blair, I don't know if she'll cope and I know I won't cope. You can't take her away, you can't do that to her. She's had a pretty terrible life. I want to give her the chance to be happy, to have a life that she wants to live, and if you take her away she'll never have that, she'll just have another scar to add to the list she already has. So no, she's not going anywhere, I'm perfectly suitable for giving her a home. I can give her way more then just a roof to live under, I can give her a family."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone, and barely listening, he took in the important words he needed before hanging up, pocketing his phone and making his way down to where Blair was and as she led Missy out of the water and onto the sand, he wrapped her up in his arms, and at that moment she knew. She knew she had a permanent home, and nothing was going to ever take that away from her.

Up by the house Gibbs watched McGee speaking firmly to whoever was on the other end of the phone and judging from the way he kept looking at Blair he knew it was about her. He smiled as he saw how pointedly Tim was speaking before he finished the call and made his way down towards Blair who looked up at him before he pulled her into his arms hugging her tightly and Blair instantly hugged him back and the two of them stood there.

He looked over to Tony and Ziva who were watching the exchange before he smiled "she's staying" he said and they both smiled in delight. Looking back down to the beach they watched as April caught hold of Missy and led her up to the stables after Livie as McGee, Blair and Tali came up the beach. Gibbs rose and clapped McGee on the shoulder before he moved over and hugged Blair tightly. "Welcome to our family Blair" he murmured and Tali blinked "she's staying for good" she asked and everyone nodded smiling as a grin slid onto Tali's face "awesome" she exclaimed before she hugged Blair tightly and smiling seeming unable to speak Blair hugged her back.

Gibbs watched as Tali moved over to the sun lounger where her parents were sitting and perched on the edge leaning against her mother who wrapped her arms around her kissing her hair affectionately as Tony smiled from where he sat with one arm wrapped around Aiden to stop him falling off. Then he looked at Abby who was hugging Blair delightedly before she dragged Tim into their hug as she and Blair laughed. Looking at his family he felt a strange sense of pride in his family, in his kids and their kids. They certainly weren't a normal family. In fact they were definitely a slightly dysfunctional family but that didn't matter. What mattered was the love and the bond they all shared and there was no shortage of that bond.

He looked then at their new extended family, the teams from New York and from the Jeffersonion. Teams he normally would hate working with but there was something about these two teams that he liked. He trusted them and felt happy to include them in their little dysfunctional family unit.

And so he smiled as he watched their family rejoice and celebrate their joining and everlasting unity that had been formed by their children. Four young spirits who had come together as Kindred Spirits.

**Well there you have it. That is it. We really hope you have enjoyed this story as it has been our pleasure to write it. **

**Please give us one last review. We would really appreciate it.**

**I would like to say a deep and meaningful thank you to my amazing and awesome friend. There are not enough words to describe how much I treasure our friendship and how much I smile when we get to talk. I hope one day we can meet and that this friendship lasts a long time and that this story is the first of many.**

**Thanks to the regular reviewers, Phnxgrl and Dinomus and to all the rest of you who have reviewed this story.**

**Keep an eye out for another story likely to come very soon from me featuring Livie and the criminal minds team. **

**Thanks again from us both**

**Mysticgirl and MissZivaBeckett**

**XX **


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